The Marauders Year 3
by Fallen Crest
Summary: It is the Marauders 3rd year at Hogwarts. A new year can bring many things like: strong friendships, more terror from Voldemort, new werewolf legislation, love, and many adventures for the Marauders, Lily, and their enemies.
1. Chapter 1: Bad Start to a Great Summer

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. **

**A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed in The Marauders Year 2.**

**The Marauders Year 3**

**Chapter 1: Bad Start to a Great Summer **

James caught Remus by the arm so he wouldn't hit the hard ground. His friend looked at him with wide eyes and James could do nothing but look at him in sympathy. For over a year Remus made excuses using fake family members to leave for the full moon and now he really was losing his family. All he could do was feel pity for his friend for that. He truly saw how much it hurt now to lose real family and not let it be one of those lies.

"Remus," James said gently as he sat on Remus's trunk with his friend. "Do you want me to leave?"

Remus mutely shook his head.

Nodding his head, James looked at his dad. "Tell mom I'll be home tomorrow."

Charlus agreed. He gave Remus a pat on the back and offered his condolences before Apparating away.

Smiling apologetic at Lena, James grabbed Remus's trunk once more and he and Remus carried it upstairs. Unlike his normal self, Remus just dropped his trunk in the middle of the floor and sat on his bed. James, with tears in his eyes, pulled his foot out from under the trunk and sat on top of it, massaging his foot and looking around Remus's room. His friend's bed was next to the only window in the room, probably so Remus could look out it if he couldn't sleep. In the opposite corner from the bed was a desk piled with a desk lamp, quills, ink, and parchment. Above the desk was a book shelf piled with the first year books and some fiction books. Next to his door was a clock on the wall. His dresser, which had a mirror, was a few feet away from his desk. A comb, some type of thingy with buttons (a phone, though James doesn't know that), keys, a lava lamp, and a Fanged Frisbee and dung bombs sat on his dresser. The trunk sat in the middle of floor where Remus dropped it. From his position, James could see a box sticking out from under the bed. On the walls next to the window were pictures of the Marauders (drawn and real) and of Remus and his family. Boxes lay scattered in one corner of the room, still waiting to be unpacked. A second door in the room probably led to a closet.

James stood up, gave Remus a quick smile, and moved the trunk to the end of the bed then leaned Remus's broom against a wall. He sat on the end of the bed. "What a way to start summer, huh?"

Remus nodded his head in agreement. He wrapped his arms around his legs and stared out his window at the forest. Being on the second floor, they could see a nest with a family of robins in it in the closest tree.

After a few moments of silence, James ventured farther. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't even know what happened. No one even bothered to mail me and tell me that my uncle was dead." Remus whispered.

"They probably didn't want to ruin your last week of school or weren't ready to talk about it." James suggested.

"He's my family as well. They should have told me." Remus retorted.

James shrugged. "People make mistakes."

"James Potter."

Remus raised a brow, while James grinned sheepishly. He pulled his mirror out. "Hey Sirius. Need to talk already. That bored, are you?"

"Hahaha." Sirius laughed sarcastically. "Yeah. My lovely mother just finished yelling at me for everything I did wrong this year. Got a pair of lungs, my mother does. She kept saying I shamed the family, called me a bunch of horrible names, yelled at me for all the rule-breaking and detentions I got, and so on and so on and so on. It was so annoying."

"That sucks mate. You didn't say anything back, did you? You need to stay on her good side this month so you can come to my house in August." James reminded.

"I know, I know. I bit my tongue, literally. It hurt like hell. I must have been making some pretty remorseful looks or something because I think my mother thinks I regret everything now." Sirius said thoughtfully.

James grinned. "Keep that up. It should get you on her good side." He looked up at Remus and frowned. "Oh, and say hi to Remus." He shoved the mirror into Remus's hands.

"REMUS!" Sirius shouted in shock. "You two are already hanging out and without me! What is this madness?"

Remus cracked a smile. "Nice to see you too, Sirius."

Sirius grinned. "So what's up? I assume James gave you the mirror for a reason."

James bounced over so he was sitting next to Remus and could get in the mirror. "No, there really wasn't a reason. I just wanted you to say hi. Oh, and I also wanted to rub it in your face that I'm not bored and am hanging with a friend."

Sirius scowled at him. "You're a prat, I hope you know that."

James shrugged.

"Actually the only reason we're together is because James's dad had to take me home and James decided to sleepover." Remus replied.

Sirius blinked. "Huh? I thought Jason was picking you up."

"Something came up." Remus said evasively.

"Remus, James." Lena asked, knocking on the door. "Can I come in?"

James grabbed the mirror and threw it under Remus's pillow. "Yes, you can, Mrs. Lupin."

"OI! It's my room." Remus said, but with a good-natured grin.

Lena pushed the door opened, balancing a tray carefully on her hand, and came into the boy's room. She put the tray down on Remus's trunk. "Snacks for you two. Enjoy." She smiled at her son before looking at James. "It is nice to see you again, James. I hope you know that you are welcomed here anytime. Our home is your home. That goes for your other friends as well, Remus."

"Thanks Mrs. Lupin." James said.

Remus smiled. "Thank mom. I'm sure they would like that."

When Lena was gone, James pulled the mirror out. He was surprised to see Sirius looking surprised, but very happy. "What? Did you think Mrs. Lupin hated you, Sirius?"

"It's just nice to know that I'm not hated by all adults." Sirius said defensively.

"Ooooh, chocolate chip cookies. Mom makes the best sweets." Remus said, grabbing the plate of cookies and putting it on the bed so it was between the boys. He handed a glass of milk to James, who put it on the window sill.

"Lucky." Sirius whined. He whipped around suddenly. "Damn, I have to go. Talk to you guys later."

Remus swallowed the cookie in his mouth. "I hope he'll be okay."

"He's Sirius. He'll be just fine." James replied. "Do you mind if I open the window?"

Remus waved his hand dismissively.

James leaned against the windowsill, letting the warm summer air hit his face, with a cookie in his hand. "What was your uncle like?"

"Head of the Magical Games at the Ministry. He was very strict. He's nothing like Jason. In fact, he is the complete opposite of Jason. He didn't like what we did at the Quidditch World Cup. Actually, he hated it while most people in his department found it amusing." Remus explained with a frown. "I don't even know why I'm so upset over his death. It was because of his fear of werewolves that he and my cousins turned against me for a while. I'm not even sure if he ever got over it completely. It wouldn't surprise me if he didn't."

Frowning, James put his milk down. "Did he hate you?"

"No, at least I don't think so." Remus replied thoughtfully.

"Even if you didn't like him very much, you care that he died because he was your cousins' father and they loved him. You care because you know it is hurting them and that hurts you because you love your cousins." James explained, smiling faintly at his friend's shocked look. "I know some things."

Laughing, Remus took another cookie. "I know you know some things. You have to know something to have been able to figure out my secret."

"I actually felt stupid when I figured it out. It was so plainly obviously and you were a horrible liar then. We should have been able to figure it out sooner." James replied.

Remus scowled and threw a cookie at him, but James caught it and gave his friend a crooked grin. "Quidditch player, remember?" He asked cockily before taking a bite of the cookie and looking out the window again. "I like it here, Remus. Living in a place like this would be really nice. It looks really peaceful and calm. It is the complete opposite of Hogwarts, something that is needed once in a while."

Nodding his head, Remus looked out the window towards the sky to see the stars. "It is nice and peaceful, but it can be boring and lonely since my mom works a lot. Since she has two jobs, it day and night shift both on the same day. I'm here mostly by myself then."

"What about that nearby town?" James asked curiously.

"Never visited it yet. Been busy." Remus replied.

James tsked. "That just won't do. We'll go tomorrow, kay?"

Remus blinked and looked at his friend confused. "Don't you have to go home?"

Waving him off, James collapsed onto his back and stared at the ceiling. "I'll be staying for a few hours tomorrow. Hey, since this was unexpected, I didn't bring anything. Can I borrow some of your clothes tomorrow?" He lifted his head and looked at Remus, scanning him up and down. "We're about the same size."

Blushing, Remus nodded his head. "They….uh….won't be what you are used to."

Scowling, James kicked Remus in the side. "How many times, Remus? I don't care that you are poor. It's not something you can help. I actually feel bad about coming from such a rich family when you are so bad off."

"I don't mind. It's nothing new for me to be around people with more money than me." Remus replied, a little annoyed.

James smiled sadly at Remus. "It's been a long day. Why don't we just sleep?"

Remus shoes went flying off. James laughed. "I'll take that as a yes. Tired, are you?"

"I guess, but mostly, sleeping is a way to forget all my troubles for the day." Remus explained as he jumped off his bed and invaded his dresser with James following him. Clothes were thrown in his face by Remus.

"Thank buddy." James mumbled, shredding his shirt, jacket, and pants to pull on the sweatpants that Remus gave him. "At least Sirius isn't here this time to take another picture."

Laughing, Remus nodded his head in agreement. "Which means we don't have to suffer more embarrassment at school."

James threw his clothes into a pile next to the closet door. He jumped onto the bed and watched Remus change. Ever since they found out about him, he began to slowly start to change in front of his friends but still didn't like when they watched him. So the boys tried not to stare when he changed. When his friend took his shirt off, James winced at all the white scars he saw there. A few were a pinkish color seeing as Remus just got them a week ago they weren't fully healed yet. His eyes particularly traveled to Remus's arm where his werewolf bite was.

Pulling his shirt over his head, Remus looked at James with a tired smile. He had known that James was staring at his torso. "You should be used to it by now."

"Sorry mate." James said, crawling under the blanket on Remus's bed.

"How many times are we going to share a bed before someone starts to think something is going one?" Remus asked abruptly as he turned the light off and went over to his bed.

James laughed. "What? They going to think we're gay and together?"

CRASH!

James shot up from the bed. "What was that? You okay, Remus?"

A groan came then a laugh. "Just tripped over my shoe."

"Oh, honestly, Rems. You're so clumsy." James said, amusement lacing his voice.

Remus jumped on the bed next to James, pulling one of the pillows to himself. "As to your question earlier, yes, I think they would think that."

Sighing, James shook his head. "I can't see people believing that."

"Oh?" Remus asked.

"Yes. They should all know that I would go for someone much cuter than you." James teased.

"Oi! I'm not sure if that is an insult or compliment." Remus replied, whacking James with a pillow.

James laughed, blocking his face from the pillow. "Take it as a compliment. You really don't want someone to call you cute. You're a boy." He pulled the covers over himself and curled into a ball for protection.

Twenty minutes later, James and Remus dropped onto the ground where their pillow fight had been moved to when James had kicked out at Remus to get him to stop. In shock, Remus grabbed the blanket and pulled James down with him who tried to stop himself by grabbing his own pillow. They both collapsed with their pillows and blanket surrounding them.

The next morning when Lena walked into her son's room, she couldn't help but smile and to grab the wizard camera that Auva always used. She took a quick picture of her son and James. Remus and James were curled around each other, limbs thrown on each other in a tangled mess (from what Lena saw, Remus and his friends were unusually affectionate and made contact a lot with each other). One of the pillows was being used by both James and Remus. The other pillow was being hugged to James's chest with his arm that wasn't thrown over Remus. The duvet was under the boys, all wrinkled and wrapped in a circle.

Scrunching his eyes and letting out a moan, James tried to stretch his limbs but didn't seem to be able to move. Opening his eyes, he found the position he and Remus were in and laughed. His laugh caused Remus to open his eyes. Remus's eyes moved up and down to see their position. "Why does this always happened to us?" He asked with a sigh.

James whacked Remus with his pillow and untangled his legs. "Well, sorry, Remus. I should have probably told you this a while ago so you could be prepared when we sleep in the same bed. I have a tendency to hug things when I sleep. You just seem to always get in my way when my arms are flailing for something to grab."

"My bad." Remus replied, rolling his eyes.

Remus grabbed his duvet and threw it back on his bed and tucked it in. While he was doing that, James grabbed the pillows and threw them back on the bed, fluffing them as he did. When he was done, the pale boy went over to his dresser, grabbed some clothes, and tossed them to James before leaving to go brush his teeth and get dressed.

James looked at the clothes that Remus gave him. The pants were old with holes in them and the color was beginning to fade. And the shirt was black with a picture of a moon and a wolf howling at it on the back of it. Smiling in amusement, James quickly pulled the clothes on and grabbed his shoes and socks from the floor. He was just tying his shoe when Remus came back in black jeans with holes where the knees were and a red t-shirt with flames on the bottom of the shirt and black lettering saying, "King of Pranking." When he entered the closet to grab something, he saw that the back of his shirt said, "Raising Hell."

"Since when are you the king?" James objected.

Laughing, Remus emerged from the closet with some old sneakers. "My mom found it at a store in town and gave it to me for Christmas. It amused her and made her think of the pranks dad used to play on her."

James and Remus ran down the stairs, the former sliding down the railing, and went to the kitchen where Lena was finishing making breakfast. "Morning boys." She said without turning around. She put the eggs and bacon on plates and put them on the table. "What do you plan to do today?"

"I plan to go to the town nearby with Remus later." James answered as Remus was already digging into his food. "We want to explore it."

"Sounds fun." Lena replied. She tapped Remus's hand to get him to stop eating. "I have to work both jobs today so I won't be back until very late. You'll have to fend for yourself."

Sighing, Remus put his fork down. "I know, mom."

James lowered his glass of orange juice with a frown. Now that he was looking, he saw the dark circles under Mrs. Lupin eyes and heard the tiredness in her voice. She really was working too hard to be able to take care of Remus. He looked around the kitchen. Dishes piled high in the sink, some chips in the glasses, the floor was dusty and the table and chairs looked to be rather old and rickety. James gnawed on his lip. Now he felt even worse about his family's money. Life has always been really easy for him. No problems whatsoever in his life.

But Remus, since he was a little kid, has faced a lot of horrors. His mother struggled to pay the bills and keep food on the table. And yet she still found money to buy Remus some things. This was so not fair. No one as nice as Remus deserved this. All he ever wanted to do was help people and make others happy. What did he do to deserve this?

"Something wrong, James?" Lena asked kindly.

James almost winced. He now knew where Remus got that, that thing where he always has to ask if someone else is okay when he obviously isn't okay. He got it from his mother. Damn it, why did the Lupins have to be so nice. "Yeah, I'm fine, Mrs. Lupin. Thanks for the food. It's really good."

Lean smiled at him before grabbing her purse from the counter. "I have to get to work. You two behave when you head to the town." She leaned down and kissed Remus on the cheek then kissed James, who looked at her shocked. Laughing, she ruffled James hair and gave him a hug then her son and left.

Remus put the last piece of bacon in his mouth, looking at James with a raised a brow. "What's up?" He said around his food.

"You…and your mother!" James exclaimed, putting his plate in the sink. He turned the faucet on and put some soap in the sink. "You guys are just so kind."

"What are you doing, James? I thought we were going to the town." Remus said confused as James grabbed the glasses and plate from him.

James dropped them in the sink and grabbed a washcloth from the counter. "We are, but I'm cleaning this first."

"You don't have to. I'll do it later." Remus objected, pushing James out of the way. "You're a guest."

James grabbed Remus's arm to stop him from draining the sick. "Look, Remus, your mother just hugged and kissed me. She loves me like her own child. I didn't ask for that and she let me stay here without one complaint. She cooked for me and you. I feel I owe her so I'm going to help clean the house. Didn't you notice that-"

"She looks exhausted? Yes, I know. She's my mother." Remus finished. "But you're my friend. I can't ask you to clean my house or any of this."

"You didn't ask. I'm doing it whether you like it or not." James argued as he started to wash a plate.

Remus took a step back and blinked. This didn't seem like James. Willingly cleaning? Really, he knows he cares but to willingly do something like this without having to be told. One would think that growing up rich and with house-elves to do everything for him that he wouldn't want to do something like this.

"You don't owe anything." Remus grumbled.

Sighing, James put the clean put on a towel and turned to his friend. "It's not about owing. Remus, I want to do this because it is a nice thing to do." Remus snorted so James glared at him. "I can do nice things once in a while. It will help her."

Remus snatched the plate and towel off the counter. He dried the plate and glasses that James already cleaned and put them away quickly, slamming the cabinet door shut before James could even look in it. "Look, it's my house and you're a guest. I'll do this. You just go and wait-"

Before Remus could finish, his black haired friend, pushed him out of the way and opened the cabinet door, ignoring all protests from the pale boy. When he opened it, he saw a lot of old mugs and glasses, all chipped. In the next cabinet, he took out some of the plates. The design on them was beginning to come off and some of them were badly chipped. From what James saw, it was obvious that whenever guests were over, Mrs. Lupin and Remus used the nicest of the dishes they had.

James closed the cabinet door and faced Remus with a frown. The pale boy gnawed at his lip and looked away from his friend, shuffling his feet nervously. He turned back to the sink and continued washing the dishes, while Remus dried them and put them away. They continued this work in silence; Remus was refusing to look at his friend, while James was frowning thoughtfully and looking all around the kitchen and through the kitchen entrance to the living room. When the dishes were finished, James cleaned the counter while Remus swept the floor. They finished quickly and left the house.

"Tell me." James said when the boys were walking down the road that led to the nearby town.

"What?" Remus asked confused.

James looked at him out of the corner of his eyes. "When you told us your story of how you became a werewolf, I think you left something out. Tell me now."

"Oh? And where did you get that idea?" Remus growled, kicking at a stone hard enough to send it flying through the trees.

"I've been thinking about it for a while actually. Looking around your house today, I feel confident that I was right in my thinking." James replied calmly, hands clasped behind his back as he continued to watch Remus out of the corner of his eyes. "Research, my dear friend, is actually pretty good. The Lupin name came up quite a few times in the records and old newspapers. Remus, to be honest, when you told us the truth of how you were bit, I think you gave us a false story or not the whole truth."

Remus froze and looked into the forest. "James…"

"We just found out your darkest secret. You were scared and were a competent liar at that point. You didn't know if you could trust us completely. You never open up to use freely. It makes perfect sense that you would lie to us about what happened." James whispered.

Violently shaking his head, Remus cast his friend one more look before running into the forest. He heard James yell in frustration, then the sound of feet slamming on the ground and rustling leaves and snaps of branches as his friend followed him. James jumped over a log, feet crunching on a branch. Ahead of him he could just make out Remus's red shirt and light brown hair waving in the wind.

Suddenly, Remus came to a halt, shoulders shaking from breathing heavily. James skidded to a stop behind his friend. His eyes took in the area that he stopped in. It was a small clearing with a small creek that was running down a hill and through the forest. Remus dropped down onto a log and motioned for James to join him.

The boys sat in silence for a few moments. James was watching Remus patiently while the pale boy was watching the water in the creek flow down the hill. A thoughtful look on his face. Many thoughts were passing through his mind as he bit down on his thumb. Within a few minutes, Remus was frowning and left James alone on the log. James looked ready to follow him but Remus only kneeled next to the creek and put his hand in the water, letting the cool liquid run over his hand.

"Remus?" James asked carefully.

"The story I gave you wasn't completely a lie, but it wasn't the complete truth." Remus whispered. He pushed himself to his feet, drying his hand on his pants.

"What I don't understand is why? We didn't ask for your story. We accepted you without it. Why did you give us the story if you weren't going to tell the whole truth?" James asked confused.

"You would have wanted to know eventually. No secrets amongst Marauders? We're friends and friends tell each other secrets. You weren't going to ask that day but sooner or later your curiosity would get the better of you. I just wanted it out of the way." Remus explained, brushing his hair back. "I never thought you would realize that it was false."

James nodded his head. "You should realize that when it comes to our friends, the marauders aren't blind to them. We will see anything that is wrong and work on it. Tell me the true story."

**A/N: Please Review!**


	2. Chapter 2: Family Truths and Robin Hood

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. **

**Thanks for reviewing!**

**The Marauders Year 3**

_This means French in this chapter because I'm not writing the whole conversation in strange words. _

**Chapter 2: Family Truths and Robin Hood**

Remus bowed his head in shame. He shoved his hands in his pockets and nudged his foot at the ground. "You want the real story then I have to tell you the truth about my family. We've been lying to you this whole time, James."

The black haired boy stood up and angrily approached Remus. "And what, pray tell, have you been lying to me about?"

"I've been living this lie for so many years that it even felt real to me. It felt like the real story to me because I've been living it for so long." Remus said, moving away from James as he did. "I told you that my mom was a muggle. That was a lie. She's a muggle-born witch."

James blinked and stared at his friend. "What? What the hell, Remus? Why hasn't she ever used magic?"

"It's a long story." Remus whispered.

*Eight years ago*

Sitting at a table was a young Remus, coloring in his coloring book. Picking up a brown crayon, Remus looked up at his mother who was cooking his lunch while a scrub brush was scrubber at a pan over the sink. Smiling, the young boy went back to his picture of a wolf howling at moon and began coloring the wolf.

With a flick of her wand, Lena levitated a plate of macaroni and cheese over to her son and placed a glass of orange juice in front of him. _"Eat up, Remus. And when you are done we can go to the pet store and get you that dog we promised to get you for your birthday. But remember, you have to take care of it."_

"_Yes Mama."_ Remus replied with a splitting grin. He's wanted a dog for years and now he could finally get it. He grabbed his fork and started to eat rapidly at his food.

"_Not so fast, Remus, or you'll choke. The dogs aren't going to go anywhere."_ Lena scolded.

Remus stopped eating so fast, but didn't slow down to a snail's pace.

Lena walked along the row of cages, watching as her son ran ahead of her, stopping at a cage every few steps before shaking his head and moving on. In the middle of the row they were in, he stopped in front of a cage. Turning back to his mother, he was wearing a huge grin.

"_I want this one." _Remus pointed to the vivid yellow shepherd puppy.

"_Okay dear." _Lena said. She took her son's hand and led him to the cashier. _"Excuse me, miss."_

"_Yes?"_

"_Can you get us that yellow shepherd puppy?" _Lean asked.

The cashier nodded her head, brown hair bobbing as she did.

"_Simba! Come here, boy!" _Remus yelled. The dog bounded over to Remus, pouncing on him when he was close enough. Laughing, Remus scratched at the dog's ears. Happy about that, Simba began to lick at Remus's face.

A POP caused Remus to stop laughing and lift his head off the ground to see his father on the stone path that led to the front door. His father glanced at him with a slightly worried frown. _"Hi son."_

Remus picked the small dog up and walked over to his dad. _"Welcome home, dad." _

Auva ruffled his son's hair and led him inside. _"I'm home, Lena!"_

Lena came out of the kitchen, face slightly flushed and flour on her hands and cheeks. _"Hi dear. You're right on time. Dinner is in fifteen minutes." _

Auva glanced at his son, to notice him playing tug-a-war with Simba, before leading his wife into the kitchen. Unbeknownst to Auva, Remus heard their footsteps walking away and saw them out of the corner of his eyes. So he didn't know that the boy dropped the rope and followed them to the kitchen door where he put his ear against the door to listen.

"_What's wrong?" _Lena asked.

"_He came to visit me at work today. He seems to have figured out the charges I am working on against him." _Auva replied with a tired sigh.

"_Who? Fenrir Greyback?" _Lena asked worriedly, as if pleading that she was wrong.

"_Yes. It is just so obvious about what is he doing. Why hasn't anyone stepped up to stop him before? He's threatened and has even hurt those little kids. And most of those kids never made it passed one full moon." _Auva growled so heartedly that it made Remus want to flinch away and it wasn't even he who his father was angry with.

"_That's exactly why no one has tried anything to get him arrested before. They are too scared for their families. You know he is a monster." _Lena replied sadly.

There was a sound of a chair scratching against the ground as someone was seating down. _"It's obvious too that it is him but people are too scared to testify against him because if he doesn't get charged, he'll come after them." _

"_So why did he come to the office?" _Lena asked.

Auva sighed. _"He was telling me to back off. Apparently, he doesn't like that someone is sticking up to him. I must be a real challenge for him. The fear was practically radiating off of him. Who would have thought the big, bad werewolf would be afraid of a lowly Ravenclaw like me?"_

Remus stiffened. He had heard about werewolves before. They were dangerous creatures, but as his mother told him before, it was only once a month.

"_He didn't….you know…" _Lena asked hesitantly.

Silenced filled the kitchen, making Remus want to stomp his foot. What was his mother talking about? Didn't what?

"_He did, didn't he?" _Lena whimpered.

Auva sighed. _"He said he would come after him. He saw the family picture on my desk."_

"_What do we do?" _Lena asked.

"_I'm scared for him, but…but I can't back out now. I'm so close to getting him arrested and think about all the people I can protect if I do."_ Auva said. It sounded, to Remus at least, that he was asking for her approval in his plan.

"_Auva…."_ Lean whispered. _"I can't…If you're going to keep going after him, I don't want to stay with you…not Remus either. It isn't safe, especially for him."_

"_Lena…" _Auva whispered.

"_No Auva….until this whole thing is solved. I don't want Remus around you. Greyback will find him that way." _Lena replied vehemently.

Remus heard footsteps approaching and scrabbled away from the kitchen door to the living room. He jumped around the couch, grabbing the rope, and waved it in front of Simba in a mocking manner.

"_Remus, dear." _Lena said softly.

Looking up, Remus noticed his mother was looking distraught.

"_We're leaving." _Lena replied.

Remus looked between his worried and scared mother to his sad and desperate looking father, who was just coming from the kitchen. _"I don't want to, mom. I want to stay with Dad." _

"_No, Remus. It is dangerous." _Lena said harshly.

Not really understanding the situation completely, Remus shook his head. _"No. I'm staying with Dad." _

After much arguing, Lena left the house in a huff. Auva looked down at Remus, who loyally stayed by his side. He wouldn't say it because he loved his son, but he would have liked his son to have left. It would probably be safer, but Remus was stubborn and absolutely refused. Once his mind was made up, he could not…would not change it.

*Present*

"The rest is pretty much the same." Remus said, staring into the forest, watching a mother bird push its baby out of the nest to teach it to fly. "My dad told me to stay inside on the day of the full moon. Me, I didn't want to listen at that point and plus I wanted to see the full moon. And I got attacked that night."

"I didn't know you had a dog." James said confused. "I've never seen it."

Remus looked down at his feet in shame. "He didn't last long with a werewolf as his guardin. I….I….think I ate him one night. He somehow got into where I was locked up for the night and I ate him."

James winced. He could now understand why Remus left this part of the story out. He was deeply ashamed and upset over what he did. Eating something he loves, of course he would be ashamed….wait. "I don't understand, Remus. I thought animals didn't affect werewolves." He said worriedly. If he was wrong, the whole animagus plan would be useless and they could throw it out now.

"True, animals can be near werewolves, but a werewolf really has no control and is wild. And Simba was just a baby. He could do nothing against a werewolf." Remus explained, refusing to meet his friend's eyes.

"And your mother?" James asked softly.

"A muggle-born. My uncle pretends she's not a witch and that I'm not a wizard. And since mom doesn't use magic anymore, it is so much easier for him to believe that. He really doesn't know that I'm a werewolf. Mom came back soon after I was bitten. She was scared for me when she heard of what happened. My dad lost his job at the ministry and took work at a muggle book store. My mom gave up magic because it was safer to pretty much to act like we didn't exist in the magic world. No magic meant she could hide from the magic society. Only one of them wanted anymore contact with it so they could try to find a way to cure me. The less contact, the safer it would be. If they found out about me, it would be incredibly dangerous. I guess my mom is so used to life without magic now that she won't go back to it." Remus explained quietly, eyes closed tightly. "They used so much of their money, trying to find a cure for me and my mom gave up magic for me. I caused them so many problems."

James nodded his head. He looked at Remus, who still refused eye contact, with a slight frown. "They did it because they love you. So stop your moping. If they didn't love you, they wouldn't have wasted their time or giving up things they need or want. They could have just as easily abandoned you at an orphanage or in the middle of the forest. Stop moping, Rems. They wouldn't want it."

"Whatever." Remus said with a sigh. He rubbed his eyes before turning to James. "To the town?"

Even though he noticed the change of subject, James didn't call his friend out on it. He understood that his friend didn't want to discuss it anymore and he was the one who started the conversation in the first place. The least he could do was let Remus leave the conversation when he wanted to. "Sure Re," Smirking at the disgruntled expression, James threw his arm over Remus's shoulder. "Why did you take off into the forest though?"

Remus shrugged. "I really just didn't want to talk on the road about it, in case you were mad at me. I thought that if you wanted to kill me for this, you should do it in private so no one will know it was you."

The sarcasm in his tone was noted, but James didn't pay it any heed. That was just Remus for you. A very sarcastic person though it was hard to tell when he being sarcastic or not. It annoyed him and Sirius so much. Because of the sarcasm, they didn't know how to react sometimes because they weren't sure if it was sarcasm or not. Remus was very good at that.

"Oh, I am disappointed." James said with a frown. "I don't see why you couldn't tell us the true story the first time. It wasn't that much different."

"It's not that, James. I told you already. The story I told you before seemed so real to me. It's what was pretty much programmed into my brain. The real truth was long forgotten. You're lucky I could recall it at all." Remus explained, jumping over a log as he did. "After all, I was only five when all this happened."

"But Remus, did you know when you told us the first story that it wasn't real?" James demanded, jumping down next to his friend.

Remus gnawed at his lip. "I think….I think somewhere in my mind I knew it was a false story."

James knocked Remus on the head. "Whatever Re. It doesn't matter right now."

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"I hope you realize that this is a muggle town." Remus snarled.

Grinning, James nodded his head and ducked into an alley. "Of course I realize that, Remus."

"Then please tell me why you had to throw a dungbomb at that boy?" Remus asked angrily as he ran down the alley with James.

James looked over his shoulder and at his friend exasperated. "He was a jerk. He deserved everything that he had coming to him."

Remus rolled his eyes. "You're just mad because he beat you in a game of wit."

"Damn right I am mad!" James shouted dramatically.

"And you say I'm becoming too over-dramatically from all my time with Sirius." Remus retorted dryly.

James poked his tongue out. He looked around the town with a thoughtful look. "Do you think you could teach me some about muggle things? I'm taking muggle studies this coming year and it might be helpful to know what I am getting into."

Remus agreed and dragged James around the town, explaining what certain muggle items were when they came across them.

And that was how Remus found himself half an hour later when the two were standing outside a movie theater. The pale boy was trying to explain what a movie theater was and James just kept arguing about it. Really! What was so hard about this? It was plain as day! In a movie theater one could watch a movie which was like a moving picture, except that they couldn't hear if someone spoke to them, it told a story, and it was filmed beforehand. Sheesh! If James couldn't figure this out, he was going to have a hard time in Muggle Studies.

"Look, there is a movie showing in five minutes." Remus snapped as he pointed at the board nearby that showed show times. "Let's go see it. It might help you understand more about this."

"Money?" James asked.

"I got some muggle money. Should be enough for this." Remus replied, dragging James over to ticket vendor. "Hello sir. Can we have two tickets for Robin Hood?"

"Okay boys, that will be $3.10." The vendor replied.

Grudgingly, Remus handed his money over. James looked away when he handed the money over. He already felt guilty enough because of Remus's money problems so he didn't want to see his friend using his money to pay for him. It would just make him feel worse.

With tickets in hand, Remus dragged his friend to the theater where their movie was playing. Settling down in his seat, James fidgeted a little and looked at his friend. "Rems, what is this movie about?"

"Not the foggiest idea." Remus replied. "You have to be quiet in here, James." He gave his friend a glare. "And I mean it. No talking during the movie."

Pouting, James settled down in his seat and turned his eyes to the movie.

Almost an hour and a half later, two laughing boys emerged from the theater. James, laughing so hard that tears were rolling down his cheeks, was hanging onto Remus for support. It didn't do too much since the pale boy was laughing just as hard as his friend.

"Th-that had to have been…." Remus collapsed onto the sidewalk in a fit of laughter, dragging James down with him.

James grabbed onto Remus's shoulder and buried his face in it. "St-s-stupidest m-movie…ever…."

"Those s-songs…..s-so…HAHAHA…"

"R-r-ridiculous." James finished with a laugh.

Grinning, Remus looked at James with a mischievous look. "You know, James." He started slyly. "That story might have been portraying yours and Lily's relationship…."

"OI! You saying I'm going to become a rogue?" James asked offended, but still laughing his head off.

"Course." Remus whispered. "As soon as people find out that you are hanging out with a werewolf…."

James laughed and pulled Remus to his feet with him. Together they stumbled down the sidewalk together, still laughing. Giving his friend a smirk, James opened his mouth and started singing. "_It seems like only yesterday, You were just a child at play, Now you're all grown up inside of me, Oh, how fast those moments flee._"

Laughing, Remus threw his arm around James shoulder and James threw his around Remus's shoulders. "_Once we watched a lazy world go by, Now the days seem to fly, Life is brief, but when it's gone, Love goes on and on._" The pale boy picked up as James took a break.

"_Love will live, Love will last,_" Remus and James sang together. "_Love goes on and on and on._"

The boys wandered into the park together, ignoring all the stares that the kids and adults were giving them. Remus stopped singing as James took over. "_Once we watched a lazy world go by, Now the days seem to fly._" James sang before stopping to let Remus finish.

"_Life is brief, but when it's gone, Love goes on and on._" Remus finished.

James stared at Remus; Remus stared at James. Both boys grinned and collapsed onto their backs on the grass, laughing their asses off. "Oh Merlin, Remus, that movie sure made my day better."

Laughing, Remus agreed and turned onto his stomach. "Well, do you understand what a movie is now?"

"Sort of." James replied before rolling onto his stomach as well. "Tell me though, are they all that bad?"

"No, I don't think so." Remus replied with a grin.

"We have to do this again, mate. But next time, Sirius and Peter have to be with us." James decided.

"Yeah, I'm sure Sirius would have taken great pleasure from seeing Robin Hood." Remus said, falling into some more chuckles. "Oh, I can just see it now. _Oh, James, my favorite rogue, Miss Evans is just going to chase you like Maid Marian and Snivellus is the evil Prince John who is keeping her from you. We must rescue the fair maiden!_"

James hit Remus in the shoulder. "Knock it off, Rems."

A smirk crawled onto Remus's face. "You aren't denying it."

Blushing, James ripped some grass out of the ground and threw it at Remus. "Shut up, Remus. I can't very well deny it after that letter you read to her at dinner."

"Ah, yes, your letter. Whatever did you do with it?" Remus asked with a raised brow.

"That's for me to know." James snapped.

Remus threw grass at him. "Prat. What time do you think you should go home?"

"Ah, it doesn't matter. My parents won't care. It's not like I have anything I have to do today." James responded as he watched a little boy nearby swinging. His friend, or at least James assumed it was his friend, threw a water balloon at the swinging boy. The boy laughed as he was splattered with water. "Muggles are oblivious."

Remus looked where he was looking. "They're kids. They usually are oblivious."

"Why aren't we?" James asked, turning back to his friend. "Maybe I don't want to know all the troubles happening in our world right now. Maybe I just want to be an oblivious kid."

"You lost that right when you befriended Sirius, Peter and me." Remus replied with narrowed eyes. "You want an oblivious life? Allow an adult to erase all your memories of the Marauders and we'll leave you alone."

James winced. "No mate. I couldn't live without you guys as my friends. Sorry I brought it up."

The older boy stood up and dusted himself off. "Forget it, James."

Sighing, James crawled onto his knees and watched his friend stare at some kids playing in a sandbox. His friend was frowning and looked deeply troubled by the way that their conversation went. Remus was always like this. He sulked over everything, like it was a bigger deal than it was. James just liked to move on and forget about it and everything that made it feel like there was a knife twisting his heart. So now was the part where he had to make Remus happy and forget the conversation….

"Oh, Re-mus." James said in a sing-song.

Just as Remus turned his head to look at his friend, the black haired boy pushed his feet off the ground and tackled his friend around his legs. Remus yelped in surprise as he was slammed into the ground. They scuffled on the ground, earning yelps from some adults as they rolled across the ground. James faintly heard an adult yell at them to stop. Too intent on their scuffled, the boys ignored him.

James grabbed Remus's shoulder and with all his strength flipped them so Remus was on the bottom. He managed to grab Remus's wrists and pin them on the ground next to his friend's head. To keep him down, James put his knee in the older boy's stomach. He grinned down at Remus. "I win."

"Cheater." Remus huffed out, trying to shift. James's knee was pressing into his stomach, making it hard for him to breathe. "I should have won. What happened to my werewolf strength?" He whined.

Laughing, James ruffled Remus's hair. "You can't rely on that all the time. I get stronger as I get older too, you know. And today just wasn't your day."

Remus muttered something about injustice and big prats who wear glasses and have extremely unmanageable black hair. He glared at James, who still had him pinned and knew it was annoying the smaller boy because James was giving an innocent grin which was obviously seen as false by Remus. "James, get off me."

James moved his knee and let go of Remus's wrists, but didn't move from hanging over Remus. Instead, he dropped down to lie on top of Remus. He heard his friend groan from his weight dropping onto him.

Heaving, Remus pushed James off him. Once he was sitting up, and sure James wouldn't tackle him again, he rubbed his chest. "You're heavy, you know. I think you've been putting on some weight, mate. Might try laying off the candy.

"OI! I am not fat!" James hit his friend's arm. "And if anyone should lay off the candy, especially the chocolate, it is you. I mean really, you have at least one bar a day."

"But it's so good." Remus whined.

"*cough*Chocoholic*cough*." James coughed.

"Oh, hahaha." Remus replied sarcastically. "You're a real laugh."

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"As much fun as today has been," Remus said, grinning at James. "I think we should head back to my house."

James looked away from the sky and at his friend with a sad smile. "You're trying to get rid of me?"

Remus shook his head.

"Mate, if I go home now, you'll be alone again. Your mom works a lot." James replied as they reached the road in the forest that led to Remus's house.

Remus shrugged. "I know. I really wish-" He cut himself off with a blush and looked away into the trees, more specifically a bunny running through a bush.

Frowning, James ran ahead a few steps. He spun around and walked backwards, giving Remus a steely glare. "Why are you like this? I'm your friend, one of your best friends, and yet you always feel the need to keep everything to yourself. I'm not going to say or do anything bad if I don't like what you are saying. What's wrong?"

"Just forget it." Remus snapped, shoving his hands angrily into his pocket. "Just family stuff. Privacy, you know?"

"How can I help you if you won't let me in?" James stubbornly refused to drop it.

Remus breathed deeply through his nose as a way of calming himself down. He didn't want to make this into a bigger deal than it was. "James, to do that I would have to open my heart and let my emotions out. I'm not going to take down my dam just because you care."

James stopped and stared at him with narrowed eyes. He didn't look angry, just mildly annoyed with a thoughtful frown. His fingers ran through his already messy hair, making it even messier. It was what he did when he was annoyed, mad, or nervous. For some reason it helped calm him. "Fine, Rems, don't tell me what is wrong. But let me tell you this, no matter how hard you try to keep it all in, sooner or later that dam will break. All your feelings and thoughts will come out in a rush. And when that happens, Remus, it will hurt you. All those emotions and thoughts, you'll be upset and scared. And when that happens, I'll be here waiting and I'll listen to you." **[1]**

"Why do you have to be such a good friend?" Remus grumbled, kicking at a stone.

"Because my friends are idiots and I have to be here to keep you all together and sane." James retorted.

Remus snorted. "Sane?"

Rolling his eyes, James spun on his heels to walk forward. "Fine, not sane. I'm here to be a friend and help you guys with your troubles. I don't know how I became friends with three people who all have problems. Won't ever be peaceful or simple, eh, Remus?" He looked over his shoulder with a grin at his friend.

"Makes life fun, doesn't it?" Remus replied.

"I guess." James replied with a slight frown now. "I just wished that the way our life becomes exciting didn't have to do with three of my best mates having to be hurt."

"That's life." Remus replied. He looked up at the canopy of trees. This conversation was making him depressed. And he didn't want James to leave with him feeling all depressed like this. It wouldn't help the fact that he was going to be alone when he left. And he was sure that James didn't want that either. It made each of them have knives twisting their hearts. "_Robin Hood and Little John, Walkin' through the forest, Laughin' back and forth._"

James stopped walking and looked at Remus with a smile which Remus returned. Grinning in silliness, the moment his friend caught up to him, James linked arms with Remus and they skipped down the road together.

" _At what the other has to say, Reminiscin', this-'n'thattin', Havin' such a good time, Oo-de-lally, Oo-de-lally, Golly, what a day._" Remus continued with James joining in with him. "_Never ever thinkin' there was danger in the water, They were drinkin', they just guzzled it down, Never dreamin' that a schemin' sheffif and his posse was a-watchin' then an' gatherin' around._"

Feeling extremely foolish, Remus knew nothing he did now could make him feel embarrassed so he grabbed James's other hand and together they jumped around together in circles. "_Robin Hood and Little John, runnin' through the forest, jumpin' fences, dodgin' trees, an' tryin' to get away, contemplatin' nothin', but escapin' finally makin' it, oo-de-lally, oo-de-lally, golly what a day, oo-de-lally, oo-de-lally, golly what a day!_"

Suddenly, James pulled his arms free and threw them around Remus's neck. He relaxed himself, allowing his friend to hold him up, so he could laugh his ass off. "That movie is so ridiculous. Why do we keep going back to it?"

Peeling James's arms off his neck, Remus dropped his friend onto the ground. When James glared at him, he just smiled innocently. "Oh, whoops. Accident, I swear."

Snorting, James kicked his leg out to knock Remus off his feet. The pale boy shouted in shock, then groan when James sat on his stomach. "It was no accident and we both know that." Here, James gave his friend a playful glare. "And you can't say, I swear, because you never swear."

"Course, I don't. I don't like swearing." Remus replied. Using his hands, he pushed himself up off the ground, resulting in James toppling off backwards. He dusted his hands off and walked away from his spluttering friend.

**A/N: I know the story Remus gave goes completely against the first chapter of The Marauders Year 1 and a few other things I wrote, but you have to understand that Remus was lying to himself for years that it all seemed real to him by the point he was eleven. **

**[1] Isn't it so nice to have a friend there, waiting to listen? I know how that is. Really, I don't like opening my heart and revealing all my emotions. Basically, the whole Remus thing with a dam surrounding his heart, that's actually me. And what James said, that's also true. And when that dam breaks, it is not fun, especially when you are alone when it happens. **


	3. Chapter 3: Summer Blues

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. **

**Thanks for reviewing!**

**The Marauders Year 3**

**Chapter 3: Summer Blues**

Crossing his room in angry strides, Sirius roughly pulled his desk chair out and plopped down it. He threw a cautious look at his door, which in hindsight was completely pointless. Besides meals, to be yelled at, and to be forced to clean something (his mother thought it fit to punish him for everything), he was never allowed out of his room. To be sure he couldn't leave, his mother had locked the door. Half of his meals were sent up to his room and the other half the time he was allowed to go to the dining room. If he was to be completely honest, he would say that he much preferred eating in his room, away from all those insane pure-bloods-will-rule-the-wizarding-world-fanatics and their crazy ideals. It was worse this summer because he promised his friends not to talk back to his parents.

He angrily yanked his desk drawer open. To everyone else it just looked like a messy drawer filled with junk that belonged to a thirteen year old. Sirius removed all the junk from his drawer, putting it on his desk. He grabbed a nearby quill, and using the tip of it, pushed a secret compartment in his drawer open from a small hole in the bottom of it. In his compartment were a mirror and some letters from his friends. If his parents, brother, or that evil little house-elf Kreacher ever came into his room, they would not be able to find his valuable possessions. He shuffled through the letters until he found James's latest letter.

_Hey Sirius, _

_How is life at the Most Noble House of Black? From your letter, I have to say not so well. Did she really make you remove a whole herd of Doxies from your house all by yourself? That would take a long time. I have to wonder how they got in your house in the first place. Hopefully you didn't get bitten. I can't imagine your mother being sympathetic enough to give you the antidote. Then again she might have enjoyed watching you in pain from the poison, giving you the antidote at the last minute, and be happy enough to let you come here in August. No offense to you mate (though you probably won't care), but your mother is a sadistic bitch. She looked downright scary at the train station. _

_I know it must be hard being at that house. Hopefully it won't be for much longer. How are things with your brother? I recall him saying that the animosity between you guys would no longer involve your parents. Has he kept to that? I would hope so. That means the fights won't be as bad since your parents won't be involved. _

_To your question about Peter, no I haven't heard from him. But don't you remember? He went to Spain for the month. He probably hasn't had the chance to read our letters or reply. Don't worry. As soon as he gets back I'm sure we'll hear from him. _

_The full moon was last night ago. I haven't heard from Remus since it so I went to his house yesterday. His mother, as usual, wasn't around. She was at work. You would think that she would take a couple days off to care for her son, but noooo. I don't think she's been home in a few days. I know she loves Remus, but she's working too much. I found Remus in agony in that metal shed that he transforms in. He chose to just transform at home this year since so much is going on at the moment. What with his uncle dying and his mom always having to work. Jason nor Remus's mother had been around to check on him. I can understand Jason. He has his own life and worries, probably still upset over his father's death. But Mrs. Lupin really should have checked on him, unless she just happened to forget that it was full moon. Oh, did I tell you about Mrs. Lupin being a muggle-born witch? Remus lied to us about that. Anyway, I'll tell you that story when we contact each other with the mirrors. For now though, Remus is fine now. I asked my mom to heal him. _

_I also started research on our new project, Sirius. We had books in our library about Animagi. I read through the first chapter of the book and barely understood it, and you know I am the best at Transfiguration in our year. It's going to be really hard and take a lot of research. I still don't want to tell Remus or ask for his help. I won't even bother to know if you found any books since your family is full of psychopaths and probably only have books about Dark Magic in that house of yours. _

_Besides all that, I'm extremely bored. I don't want to bother Remus because he needs to rest. You are locked in your damn room and Peter is in Spain. So bored!_

_Hope to see you soon!_

_Soon to be dead from boredom, _

_James_

Stifling a laugh at the ending, Sirius put the letter down and pulled some parchment, ink, and quill towards him.

_My dear James, _

_Please don't die! You can't die from boredom! That is a pathetic way to die. You shall die a heroic death, unlike all those heroes in those adventure books that Remus reads. They always make it through the adventure with a lovely lady at their side and die of old age. How boring! _

_Life at the House of Darkness and Evil sucks. I'm still locked in my bedroom. I just recently escaped from lunch where my mother spent her time talking about Voldemort and all the "great" things he is doing. And you know what, Regulus was taking it all in with a smile and agreeing with it! UGH! They really don't see how bad Voldemort is. Yes, she made me exterminate the doxies by myself, and yes, she probably would enjoy my suffering from a doxy bite. Luckily, I wasn't bitten. No offense about your statement of her being a bitch because she is most definitely one, just like Bellatrix. I'm not sure who is worse between those two. _

_The animosity between me and Regulus hasn't been that bad this summer. But then again, I've been locked in my room for most of it. Though when something does happen between us, it's all because I'm forced to clean something. He just comes in and watches me clean, making jokes here and there. I just want to punch that smug smirk right off his face. But he and I both know I can't or I'll get in serious trouble. He is, after all, the favorite. Stupid bloody coward. _

_Peter is returning in August, right? When he comes back, we have to all meet at your house. I wonder how he is surviving since he doesn't know any Spanish. _

_I know when the damn full moon was. I was locked in my room and couldn't sleep that night so I just stared at it all night. I wish I could have come with you to see Remus. How bad was it this time? Not so bad that he had to go to St. Mungo's again, I hope. Actually, I don't recall any of us actually seeing Remus directly after a full moon before he's gotten himself healed. How bad was it to see him like that? And I don't give a damn if his father did die. Jason should have been there to get Remus healed, or even Selene, she's a healer after all. And Mrs. Lupin should have been there too. What was she doing? Working for two days straight just so she wouldn't have to see what her son did to himself? _

_I'm going crazy with worry, Jamesy. We need to become Animagi as quick as possible. I hate that Remus has to go through this all alone. It's killing him, figuratively speaking of course, for the moment at least. I think he feels he has to suffer alone and I don't like that. We already told him that we aren't going to abandon because of him being a werewolf. But he's still letting himself suffer alone. I really want to know what goes on in that brain of his to make him think that. And you're right for not asking. I have no Animagi books here. Sorry mate. Looks like you're on your own for a while. _

_Severely aggravated and wanting to kill someone, _

_Sirius_

Sirius rolled his letter up and went over to his window. He opened it with a snap and whistled. A tawny owl came soaring over to him and landed on the window sill. "Hey Shea. I need you to take this to James Potter." He told her as he tied the letter to her leg.

He was just finishing putting everything back in his drawer when his door was slammed open. Rolling his eyes at the melodramatic act, Sirius turned in his seat, one elbow resting on the back of it. "Yes mother?" He bit out.

"What is this I hear about you sending letters to those little, blood-traitor friends of yours?" Walburga asked angrily.

"Do you see me receiving or sending any letters?" Sirius snapped. "Where did you even hear that?"

"I saw that owl of yours leaving." Walburga said with narrowed eyes.

"Maybe she is going hunting because she is bored because she has nothing to do cause I can't send letters to anyone." Sirius retorted.

Walburga looked around the room with a frown.

"Fine, if you don't believe me, search my room. Search it for any letters." Sirius snapped.

His mother called Kreacher up and told him to search his room for letters. Because, apparently, doing any type of searching is below high-and-mighty pure-bloods. Sirius had to roll his eyes at the thought as he stood in his doorway so Kreacher could search without interference. The house-elf searched high and low, looking everywhere. He looked under the bed, under the pillows and blankets, he opened the desk drawers, he ruffled through the dresser and trunk, he checked the pockets of his clothes but found nothing.

Smugly, Sirius ordered Kreacher out of his room when he was done and turned to his mother while Kreacher muttered nasty things about Sirius as he left. "Well, as you can see, there is nothing here. I haven't had any contact in the last few weeks. Now if you don't mind, I have homework to do."

In a huff, Walburga left the room, slamming the door shut and locking it as she did.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

James put Sirius's letter aside and stared out of his bedroom window. His friend was right. They have never seen Remus before he got healed after a full moon. And James really wished they could have kept it that way. Seeing Remus like that…..it was just horrible…

_The black haired boy stepped out of the fireplace, dusting himself off as he did. He took his glasses out of his pocket, he learned a while ago not to Floo with them on, and put them back on. Remus's house looked pretty much the same as it did the last time he was here. Boxes sat all around, some still not even opened, and undusted. _

"_Remus? Remus, are you here?" James yelled, walking farther into the house. "I'm sorry if I'm intruding, but I was worried about you." He paused at the bottom of the stairs with a frown. "Remus?"_

_James climbed the stairs to his friend's room with dread. The walk to Remus's room felt like it was taking hours. When he did reach his friend's room he found it empty. He ran downstairs and searched all over the house, but his friend wasn't anywhere. "Oh, this is just like you, Remus." _

_He wandered outside and over to the new metal shed that Jason installed not too long ago for Remus. Remus had told him that he didn't want to go back to the Shrieking Shack. He needed a couple moons away from it. He was spending too much time in a place that he hated. James also suspected it had to do with the Whomping Willow. His friend was probably still harboring some guilt for what happened to Davey Gudgeon and wanted to stay away from the Whomping Willow as much as possible. That was just James's guess though. _

"_Remus, you in here?" James called through the door. He didn't want to open it without permission. A groan came from the other side, a groan that James barely heard through the thick metal. "REMUS, I'M COMING INSIDE!" He yelled so his friend would hear him. _

_James opened the door. He squinted his eyes to see. It was dark inside the shed and the sunlight coming in didn't help much. Just one step inside and James felt his shoe sink into a liquid. He looked down to see himself standing in a pool of blood, his friend's blood. "Remus?" James whispered, going farther into the shed. _

"_James?" Remus whispered with a hoarse voice, and it might have been his imagination, but James thought he heard fear in his friend's voice. _

_From the light coming into the shed, James could see his friend lying on the ground, surrounded by a dark liquid that he knew was blood. He kneeled down, not caring that there was blood everywhere. His friend was naked, obviously since his clothes probably got all torn up when he was transforming. So that showed him all his friend's wounds. From what he saw, Remus's leg was most likely broken because of the odd angle it was at. A horrible bite mark was on Remus's leg. The blood was dry around his leg, but it was still bleeding. Scratches littered his arms and torso. Most of them had stop bleeding as the blood around the cuts dried into a crust. One particular bite on Remus's shoulder caught his attention. It was still bleeding and probably the source of most of the blood around. How the hell did he bite himself there? _

"_Remus, mate, what are you still doing in here? You should be inside." James said. He ripped his jacket off and pushed it into Remus's shoulder. His friend whimpered from the pressure. "Rems, I don't want to move you because it might make everything worse. But I'm not going to leave you here. I'm going to go…."_

"_No…don't leave." Remus replied pathetically. His hand scrabbled at the ground until it found James's leg and held him. His eyes met James's briefly before they started to frantically look all around the metal shed. _

"_I'll be right back. I just want to call my mom here so she can help you." James replied, peeling gently at Remus's fingers. "I'll be right back. I'll even leave the door open so you won't be alone in the dark again." _

_Remus whimpered, but didn't try to grab his friend again. _

_James ran out of the shed and back into the house. He grabbed a handful of Floo powder, throwing it into the fireplace, and yelling, "Godric Hollow's Potter's residence." He tossed his head into the green flames that appeared. A moment later he saw his dining room. "MOM! MOM, CAN YOU COME HERE?"_

_A few moments later and Mrs. Potter was hurrying into the dining room. "James? What is the matter, dear? I thought you were at Remus's." _

"_I am, mom. I need you over here quickly. It's Remus. He never got healed after the full moon." James said quickly. _

James bit down on his thumb. Besides his nightmares of the day he was bitten by a werewolf, James has never seen Remus that scared. He looked absolutely terrified. At first he thought it was because he was left alone in that metal box for a while severely wounded, but when he talked to Remus later that night, he knew that wasn't the reason behind being terrified. It wasn't that Remus had claustrophobia (fear of confined spaces) or Achluophobia (fear of darkness), he was just scared after having been locked up for so long, longer than usual and it was like he had those fears. He was absolutely terrified, and if James were to guess, might someday acquire autophobia (the fear of abandonment). Being alone like that after the full moon, it would not come to as a surprise to any of the Marauders.

"James, honey?" Maria called up the stairs, knocking James from his thoughts. Did he hear a sense of urgency in her tone?

Giving one more glance at the letter, James got up and left his room. He went over to the balcony and looked down. "Yeah Mom?"

"Will you be alright here by yourself?" Maria asked quickly.

James scrunched his brows together, and with a frown asked, "Huh? What's going on?"

Maria wrung her hands nervously. "Dear, there's been another attack. I've been called to St. Mungo's to help the healers and your father has gone to see what he can do to help the Aurors. I need you to be careful here. There are wards up around the house. Do not go anywhere, understand?"

James, never having seen his mother this serious about anything, nodded his head. "Yes ma'am." He said. Satisfied, his mother gave him a sad smile before leaving the house.

In an even worse mood now at the bad news, James trudged back to his room, snapping the door shut as he went in. He sat on the cushioned bench that was part of the wall and in front of the window so he could stare out it. There was a time when he would not have listened to his mother and gone outside, but from all he learned from being friends with Peter, Sirius, and Remus, he knew that wouldn't be a good idea. It was more specifically a lesson he learned from Remus, when he told them how he snuck out and got attacked by a werewolf that made him listen.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

Towel over his head, Remus viciously attacked his hair to get it dry. It was just one of those things that annoyed him, wet hair. It wasn't so much the wetness that bothered him. The water dripping onto his face, neck, and back was more of what bothered him. He knew it was water, but the dripping liquid made him think of the blood from his head wounds dripping onto his torso after a full moon. He knew it was ridiculous which is why he never told anyone about it.

Stopping in front of the full length mirror that was on the wall at the end of the hallway (near the bathroom), Remus pulled the towel off his now disheveled hair and wrapped it around his neck. Around his neck was his moon pendant that Lily gave him for his birthday. A thin, pale finger ran over a fairly new, pink scar on his torso that went from his left shoulder to his hip. How he ever managed to do that, he would never know. It was just another ugly scar to add to his collection in his opinion. As was the bite on his shoulder, which Remus noted with an annoyed frown, was not completely healed and still bleeding. He cupped his bleeding shoulder in his hand, wincing a little when he touched it.

"Damn it, Remus." Remus muttered, not noticing or not caring that he was swearing. "You stupid monster, look at your mangled body." He looked down at the scars crisscrossing all over his body. There was only so much room on his body before he started ripping old wounds open and creating new scars that crossed over the old ones."Is this really how it is always going to be? Moping in front of a mirror after the full moon to see your new ugly scars and realizing that you will forever have to deal with this on your own?"

A scarred hand ran over his face in a tired manner. He went back into the bathroom, dropped his towel in the hamper, and went over to the cabinet above the toilet. He climbed onto the toilet to search through the cabinet. He glanced down to the waste basket to see the old blood covered gauze and wrinkled his nose at it. Finding the gauze quickly enough from all his times needed it, Remus jumped off the toilet and sat on it.

With his shoulder all nicely wrapped up once more, Remus put the gauze away and left the bathroom with slumped shoulders. Once more his mother wasn't here to take care of him. When he was younger she was always there for him, to make sure he was alright after the full moon. Now he was home alone almost all the time during breaks. Even when he came home for Easter and Christmas to be with his mother, he felt more alone than ever. He understood that with his father gone that she needed to work a lot more to support him, but he just wished she would take some time off once in a while to be with him.

In his room, Remus was ready to collapse on his bed and stare at the ceiling until an idea hit him, but then he saw a brown owl sitting on his desk. Seeing as he didn't know this owl, a confused Remus went over to his desk and took the letter from it. He immediately recognized the neat writing of one Lily Evans.

_Dear Remus, _

_I'm sorry I haven't talked to you recently. I've been so mad at you this past year for being a Marauder. The Marauders, in other words, your friends, irk me so much. They, mostly Black and Potter, are such arrogant toerags. I hate how they think they can do whatever they want and how you guys always get away with your pranks. Pettigrew and you aren't that bad. But Pettigrew, no offense meant, seems like a follower to you guys. Anyway, the other reason I've been ignoring you a lot more is because you read that love letter Potter wrote in the middle of dinner. It was so embarrassing, Remus. _

_I also wanted you to leave your friends because they are so immature and you are nothing like that. It was wrong of me to try to make you choose between me and your other friends. I'm sorry about that. If you want to be friends with them, than that is fine. I won't make you choose, but I would still like to be your friend, Remus. I am sorry for everything bad I said about your friends and for trying to get you to leave them. So, I hope you can forgive me and still be my friend. _

_Now that I think about it, it's kind of funny. Even if you did want to not be their friend anymore, I wonder, would they let you leave? I mean, you do share a room with them and from what I saw, you guys have a lot of fun. I don't think you would be able to escape their friendship. Really, I feel kind of stupid for not realizing that sooner. _

_Anyway, that is all I wanted to tell you. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for everything I did and said. And next school year we can hang out once more. _

_Thanks, _

_Love Lily_

A smile came over Remus's face when he finished reading the letter. Lily has finally relented in her attack of his friends, to him at least, which was good because he was getting sick of the constant badgering from Lily about his friends being arrogant toerags with all their bullying and pranks and how he shouldn't associate himself with them since he was much more mature and too good for them. He was glad that he didn't have to choose amongst his friends now. Choosing didn't really matter now that he thought about it. He was always going to be friends with Peter, James, and Sirius. Nothing was ever going to change that. No matter anything what Lily or anyone else said. They were his mates and would never do anything to hurt him.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

Peter let his head drop to the table with a thump. Why, oh why, did his aunt have to take him to Spain for a month? He would much rather be back in London and with his friends than here. At least than he could be doing something fun. Here in Spain, all he got to do was be dragged around the place by his aunt. They did some shopping (UGH!), went out to eat at places, went on tours of places, went to museums, and other things. Going to the beach was probably one of the few things he actually did enjoy of this vacation. He did meet a few kids his age and talked to them, but they weren't his friends.

He missed his friends greatly. He got letters from them, but never got a chance to read them with how busy he's been. His aunt never gave him a chance to take a break. It was get up in the morning, get dressed, eat breakfast, go out and do what they were going to do that day, come back to the apartment very late and exhausted. So exhausted that he didn't have the energy to read his friends' letters which was why there was a pile of letters sitting on the table at the apartment.

"Come on, Peter. Hurry up with your breakfast. We have a long day ahead of us." Lara scolded as she put her dishes in the sink.

"Aunt Lara, how much longer are we going to be in Spain?" Peter asked with a sigh.

Lara smiled. "Only a week, Peter, than you can go home and see all your friends."

Peter gave a little grin. His aunt could see right through him to the problem. She knew he was bored and missed his friends which is why she tried to incorporate something fun and that he would like into their plans each day. Though she refused to cut the trip short because of his boredom. How she ever got a month off for this trip, Peter was never able to figure out.

"What are we doing today?" Peter asked.

"I thought we would go visit the magical sights around here." Lara replied.

"There are magical sights here?" Peter asked, excited for once on this whole trip. "Why haven't we been there yet?"

Lara laughed. "Thought we would get the boring stuff out of the way first."

Peter frowned. "We should have just skipped the boring stuff."

"You'll learn in life, Peter, that not everything is fun. There are boring things you have to do in life. You should get used to that idea." Lara replied.

"Already know that. It's called homework." Peter whined.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

Sirius tumbled out of the fireplace, grabbing at the shelf above it to keep his balance. Once he was sure that he wouldn't collapse, from dizziness from the Floo, he looked around the room and saw James sitting cross-legged on an armchair with a book in his lap. "Lo, James."

James nodded his head in greeting.

Frowning, Sirius dropped his trunk with a thump and walked around to the back of James's chair, looking down at the book. "What? Is that book better than greeting your friend who you haven't seen in over a month? You're getting as bad as our dear, bookish Remus, Jamesy."

"Sirius," James hissed, snapping the book shut and holding it up. "This is about Animagi. I'm trying to understand it." He blinked. "And since when was it planned that you would be coming over today?"

"I asked my mother if I could come. Turns out, she couldn't be happier to get rid of me. I'm stuck here for the rest of the summer. My mother doesn't wish to see me at all until next summer, dear James." Sirius replied with a grin. "She was really happy to have me out of the house. I thought she wouldn't want me to leave because she would want me to continue to clean for her as punishment."

James nodded his head. "Maybe she just got sick of you."

Sirius smirked. "Good, I can still cause her grief."

Rolling his eyes, James swung his feet off the chair and stood up, book under his arm. "Come on, let's go to my room. Can't have my parents hearing about our plans. TIPPY!"

A young house-elf with bright, round green eyes popped until the room. "Yes, Master James?"

"Take Sirius's trunk to his room." James ordered. He turned to Sirius, grabbed him by the ear, and dragged him out of the living room. "Pete is back by the way. He says he's coming over tomorrow."

Sirius whacked James's hand away from his ear and followed his friend up the stairs. "What about Remus?"

"He said he had something to do and would probably come over sometime after the full moon." James replied.

"What did he have to do?" Sirius asked curiously.

James shrugged. "Didn't say."

"So, what have you found on Animagi?" Sirius asked as he jumped onto his friend's bed. He laid down on it on his stomach with his head at the end of it. James joined him and put the book in front of them.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

Hands shoved in his pants pockets, Remus wandered down the road. He hadn't told his mom where he was going or that he even left. She wouldn't notice since she was always working so much. He could pretty much do anything he wanted and his mother would never know. For a few days he thought of doing something horrible just to see his mom would notice, but immediately pushed that thought aside. He didn't want to make things harder for her.

Remus pulled a letter out of his pocket to glance at the address. He was in Cokeworth, a town near Mill Town, to visit Lily. He had asked for her addressed, taken the Knight Bus to Cokeworth, and was now walking to her house. Groaning in annoyance, Remus stopped walking and looked around the neighborhood. He noticed a woman in her front yard, watering her flowers, and approached the fence surrounding her house. "Excuse me, ma'am."

The old woman looked up with a gentle smile. "Yes young man?"

"Could you tell me where I can find the Evan's residence? I know they live on this road…." Remus trailed off with a grin.

"Ah, of course." The old woman put down the hose and approached the fence. She pointed towards the direction that Remus just came from. "They live two houses down on the opposite side."

Remus smacked his forehead. "Of course. Thank you ma'am."

Rocking on his feet, Remus stared at the sky as he waited for the door to open. He was just thinking that one of the clouds looked like a swan when the door opened, startling him out of his thoughts. Expecting to see Lily, he was quite surprised to see a thin, blonde-haired girl with pale eyes and horse-like front teeth. "Hello." He said politely.

"Who are you?" The girl asked.

Remus blinked. The tone almost sounded rude to him. "Remus Lupin. I'm looking for Lily."

The girl sniffed in dislike. "I've heard your name from her many times. You're one of those freaks that she goes to school with."

"Huh?" Remus said, kind of hurt that Lily would think of him as a freak.

"Tuney!" A voice that Remus recognized as Lily's snapped. A second later, "Tuney" was pushed away from the door and Lily, looking just as pretty as ever and a couple inches taller (still shorter than Remus though), was there. "Hello Remus." She said before looking back in the house at her sister. "Tuney, tell mom that I'm going for a walk."

Whatever her sister's reply was, Remus didn't hear as the door was pulled shut and Remus was being pulled down the driveway by a furious looking Lily. This particular anger was something Remus saw whenever James did something arrogant in Lily's opinion.

"Tuney?" Remus asked with a raised brow as Lily continued to drag him down the sidewalk.

"Petunia is my older sister by two years." Lily explained, finally letting go of Remus so they could walk next to each other. "Don't mind her calling you a freak." She gave her friend a kind smile. "She doesn't like magic so she calls everyone in our world freaks. I'm sorry she called you that."

Remus nodded her head. "Well, so you know, my lovely Lily-kins, you are not a freak either."

Lily laughed. "Thank you, Remus. I'm glad to hear that." A sad smile appeared on her face. "Though I wish I could hear it from Tuney. We used to be so close but ever since we found out that I am witch, she hasn't been all that nice to me."

"Don't worry, Lily. Someday she will see that you aren't a freak, and I'm sure she still loves you." Remus replied, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Thank Remus." Lily replied, eyes shining brightly with happiness. "I am curious though, why are you here?"

"I got your letter and wanted to say in person that it is alright. I forgive you, Lily." Remus replied. "I could never be mad at you. Well, I could, but I'm not mad about this. I was upset at first when you started to try to get me to leave my friends, but not anymore now that you aren't going to do it anymore."

Delighted, Lily jumped at Remus and gave him a tight hug. "Thank you! I'm so glad that we can hang out once more like we did in first year before all this Marauders business. And once more, I'm sorry for everything."

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"_An animagus is a witch or wizard who can morph him or herself into a specific animal at will. Animagi can only take on the form of one specific animal. The animal form that a witch or wizard becomes is not chosen. Rather their form is chosen by their personality and inner traits. In other words, their animagus form is a reflection of their inner nature."_

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"Remus, why did you join the Marauders?" Lily asked curiously. She was lying on her back in front of the lake in the park. Next to her was Remus twirling a flower in his hand.

Remus, concentrating hard, released the flower from his hand and using a little bit of magic let it fly around him and Lily. "Well, when I made friends with them, I didn't want to be their friend. I told you before that I made a deal with them. And from there, I realized that I had fun with them. And then Sirius wanted to name ourselves something since we were causing a lot of mischief. By that time, I was getting used to his craziness."

"Oh." Lily replied, watching the flower with interest. "I'm glad you realize that your friends are arrogant and insane. I was worried for a while that you really were that blind." She sat up and grabbed the flower out of the air. "How can you do that? I could control my magic like that before I went to Hogwarts, now I can't."

Remus sat up and smiled at her. "I'm not surprised by that. You have a lot of control. Before Hogwarts you don't have a wand and use accidental magic. You had a lot of control of your accidental magic. You can't use accidental magic anymore because when you turn eleven you start learning magic and have a wand. It is very rare to continue using accidental magic after that."

"So you're saying that I can't use magic like you do anymore?" Lily asked sadly. "I always liked using magic freely without a wand."

"It's possible." Remus said slowly, taking the flower from Lily. He levitated it in his hand. "But you have to realize that this is called wandless magic and it takes a powerful witch or wizard and some studying to do."

"Are you saying that I'm not powerful?" Lily asked, eyes flashing angrily.

Remus chuckled. "Not at all. You have to be strong and have a lot of concentration to control you accidental magic, Lils. Which you do seeing as you just said you did when you were younger. But it gets harder as you get older because you are getting more control of your magic. When you are below eleven you have no control of your magic and it just happens. As your magic gets stronger and you become older, you get more control of you magic. To be able to use wandless magic passed eleven you have to be a powerful and disciplined witch or wizard, Lily. As powerful as you are, Lily, you aren't disciplined."

Lily glared at him. "I am too." She grabbed the flower from Remus and tried to levitate it. When it just sat in her hand, she gave Remus a frustrated look.

"I told you. You aren't disciplined. You let your emotions run wild." Remus replied calmly, taking the flower back once more. Giving his friend a shy smile, he leaned towards her and tucked Lily's hair behind her ear. A blush crept into Lily's cheek at how close Remus was, but he just put the flower in her ear and sat back. "Lily, your emotions run wild. You are calm one second, than when you see James and Sirius, even when they do nothing you get annoyed and glare at him. How is that disciplined?"

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"_An Animagus bears an identifying mark on their animal form that is caused by something on their human body. This mark can be a physical trait like dental structure, or an acquired trait like glasses. If, in their human bodies, an animagus goes under a major physical change, for example a loss of limb, the animal form will reflect that. That also means an animagus in animal form will retain the lifespan of an ordinary human being." _

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"Remus, you won't-" Lily started worriedly, but never finished as there was a popping sound behind them. Both kids whipped around to see two wizards standing there, each with a wand out and pointed at the kids. "What? Who are you?"

Biting his lip nervously, Remus stood up and dusted himself off. He recognized the one as Alastor Moody, a man he only met once, and the other was a bald, black wizard and wore a single gold hoop earring. He was rather young. "Hello Moody." Remus greeted, with a tip of his head. He looked at the other wizard. "And you are?"

"Remus, isn't it rude to ask for someone's name without first giving yours?" Lily asked reproachfully.

Remus shrugged and pointed a thumb at himself. "Remus Lupin," He pointed at Lily. "Lily Evans." He pointed at Moody. "Auror Alastor Moody, and you?" He asked impatiently to the black wizard. "You look oddly familiar."

"That is because I was in my seventh year at Hogwarts when you started. I was in Ravenclaw. We simply passed each other a few times most likely in our time there. My name is Kingsley Shacklebolt." Kingsley explained.

For a moment, Remus was surprised at the man's calm, reassuring voice. He hardly ever heard someone with a voice like that. Arrogant, kind, sarcastic, mean, harsh, he's heard many tone of voices, but never this type of voice and he found that he liked this tone the most. "You're here because of my magic, aren't you?" Remus asked with an apologetic grin.

"They can track wandless magic?" Lily asked shocked.

"Yeah, they can track all magic used by underage wizards and witches until they are seventeen." Remus explained blandly. "Usually it's accidental though."

"I don't understand, Remus. If you knew they would know than why were you using magic?" Lily asked confused.

"Cause I could." Remus replied with a cocky grin at her before becoming serious. "Honestly, I knew about the trace, but didn't think they would find me here. The trace is how the Ministry of Magic knows that underage kids use magic. It's mostly for kids living in muggle houses because underage magic in wizard homes can't be traces because adult witches and wizards live there so it is up to the parents to punish their children if they use underage magic. I didn't think they would know it was me using magic here, though I knew they would know someone was using underage magic. Plus it was such a small use of magic."

"What were you doing?" Kingsley asked.

"Levitating a flower." Remus said with a shrug. He looked around. "And besides, there are no muggles around. Why are you here? Shouldn't I just get a letter to not do it again?"

"We didn't know who was doing it since there are two underage kids in this area." Moody growled. "Now three apparently."

"No only two. I'm just visiting." Remus said with a wave of his hand. "Who else lives here?"

"Severus." Lily replied.

Remus nodded his head. "So a warning of not using accidental magic again?"

Remus glanced at his watch. "Not in a hurry. Just have to get home. My mom usually comes home between her shifts to make sure I'm alright, even if it is only for five minutes. I need to be there before she gets there."

Lily frowned. "She doesn't know you're here?"

"Course not. She spends pretty much all her time working now." Remus replied with a sigh and a sad smile. "She won't notice I'm gone unless I'm not home when she decides to see me for once!"

"Oh." Lily replied.

"Right!" Remus said, glancing at his watch again. "Warning not to use magic again and blah blah blah. I won't do it again. Can I go now?"

Kingsley chuckled in amusement. "I guess. You understand that you can't use magic outside of school until you're seventeen, right? Even if there are no muggles around?"

"Yes." Remus said.

"Then you can go, I guess. There really isn't anything else for us to do." Kingsley replied with an amused grin.

Moody grunted. He seemed to disagree with Kingsley's choice.

Remus gave a quick thank and grabbed Lily's hand. He dragged her out of the park. "Really, it was just a simple levitation." He grumbled as he ran down the sidewalk with Lily.

Lily laughed. "Maybe next time you'll know better."

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"_Transfiguration and the Animagus transformation are different in that the Animagus transformation can be done at will and whenever they want, without a wand, and with no incantation. Transfiguration requires a spell and wand. An Animagus still thinks as a human does when they are in animal form, but their feelings are not as complex when they are in animal form. Also as animals, an Animagus is capable of communicating with normal animals."_

*Y*E*A*R*3*

Lily giggled as Remus led her up her driveway. When he looked at her, she full out grinned at him. "This has been a really fun day, Remus. Thanks, everything was great, even the interruption from the Aurors."

Remus smiled. He stopped in front of Lily's front door. "I'm glad you had fun. I'm not sure if we'll see each other again until school. James wants me to stay at his house for the last couple weeks of summer."

"Okay Remus. I'm just glad I got to see you once. It was a nice surprise." Lily replied. She stopped just before opening her door and turned back to Remus. "The next time you come over make sure to ask for permission first. I don't want you getting in trouble with your mother just for me. But it was still nice for you to come visit me." She stood up tiptoe and gave Remus a small kiss on his cheek. When she moved back, redness was creeping into her cheeks.

Remus, surprised, smiled softly. "It was very nice to see you, Lily." He gave her a hug, smelling her strawberry shampoo, and buried his face in her hair. Lily hugged him tightly. "I'll see you in September."

Lily broke the hug first and gave him one more kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for being my friend still, Remus. And I'll see you in September."

Remus smiled once more. "Bye Lils."

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"At least now we know some more about Animagi." Sirius said as he finished reading the introduction of what Animagi are. "Now how do we become one?"

"That's the part I'm having trouble with." James said, taking his glasses off to rub his eyes tiredly. "There is even a potion involved. It's the most complex potion that I've ever seen. We'll have to wait until we get to school to brew it because it takes a month and we still have to get the ingredients. We can probably get the ingredients at Slug and Jiggers Apothecary. We need to find a private place at the school to brew it though."

"This seems more and more impossible the more I look at it." Sirius said with a frown. At James's disgruntled look, he shook his head. "I'm not saying we don't do it. It's just going to take a long time. Come on, let's look at this together. Maybe working together will make it more easily understood."

**A/N: Please Review! **


	4. Chapter 4: Pictures

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. **

**Thanks for reviewing!**

**The Marauders Year 3**

**Chapter 4: Pictures**

James stepped out of the fireplace, taking his glasses out of his pocket and putting them on as he did. He really didn't like to Floo. Anything would be better than having to Floo. Behind him he heard the fireplace roar to life once more as one of his friends joined him. "Next time we come here, we are not taking the Floo." James grumbled.

"How do you plan to get here?" Sirius's voice replied.

"I don't know, but we aren't taking that blasted Floo." James shouted as the fireplace roared to life once more, meaning that Peter was arriving. "That Floo is evil. It always gets me covered in soot and I have to remember to take my glasses off or they were break. And what if I forget once and wherever we go there isn't an of age wizard there to fix them for me. I mean, what will I do then? And if they do break-"

Footsteps rushing down the stairs caught Sirius's attention and he forgot all about the ranting James next to him. Though, since his friend was ranting so loudly, he didn't hear the footsteps. A few seconds later a bandage covered Remus reached the last step and was staring into the living room with a surprised look. Sirius gave a small wave and grin, but Peter and James didn't notice anything as Peter was watching James rant. Sirius took this moment to give Remus, who wasn't wearing a shirt, a quick once over. His chest and left arm were heavily bandaged, while his right arm was in a sling, probably the reason why he didn't put a shirt on. A piece of white cloth was tape on his left cheek. He couldn't see his friend's legs through his pants, but he could guess that they were just as bad.

"Remus," Sirius called, jumping over the couch that separated them and through the archway. He skidded to a halt in front of his friend and looked at him. Up closer to him he could see the disheveled hair, the dark circles under his eyes, and the strain shining in his eyes. "Are you okay?"

Remus raised a brow at him.

Sirius chuckled. "Right, stupid question."

The tired boy nodded his head at the ranting boy. "What is James going on about?"

"The Floo." Sirius said with a laugh. "He says next time we aren't taking it. He absolutely hates it."

"Oh, you could try the Knight Bus." Remus replied with a smile. "It's a rather rocky ride, but I think you'll find it fun." He tilted his head as he examined his friend with a look that was way too innocent for someone in his predicament in Sirius's opinion. "Glad that you escaped your house for the rest of the summer, Sirius, but what are you guys doing here? I told James I would be over a few days after the full moon."

Blinking, Sirius gave his friend a frown. "What are we doing here?" He asked in a low voice. "Oh, that is it." He turned to the still ranting James and Peter, who finally looked away from James and was looking at Remus, giving him a once over like Sirius did. "JAMES POTTER! GET YOU EGOTISTICAL HEAD OUT OF YOUR ARSE AND COME OVER HERE TO HELP ME BEAT SOME SENSE INTO OUR DEAR FRIEND!"

"You don't have to yell, Sirius." James said immediately, looking at his friends over his glasses. "But I do have to know, what are you talking about? Why are we beating Remus up this time?"

Sirius pointed at Remus as he whined, "He actually had the nerve to ask why we came here."

Scowling, James propelled himself over the couch, sliding across the floor as his feet hit it from the force of his jump. Sirius managed to grab his arm and stop him from going any farther when he was near them. "You dare to ask such an atrocity!"

Remus blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

"Come on, Remus. Even I'm not dumb enough to miss what they are referring to." Peter scoffed, arms crossed on the back of the couch as he kneeled on it.

"You're not dumb, Pete. You're just not the best in class." James said forcibly, as if trying to push confidence into the boy. He wasn't the best in class, but he wasn't dumb either. "Anyway," The black haired boy continued, looking back at Remus. "We wanted to see how you were after the full moon. And," He held up a hand to stop Remus from speaking. "Before you say anything about us not having to, it's not about having to. It's because we care about our friend. Is that not allowed, Remus? You would rush over to our houses if you heard we were injured, so why can't we do the same for you?"

Remus scowled. "Why can't you? I don't know." He said sarcastically, and with an eye roll that Sirius always found annoying, seeing as he does it so much. "Maybe because I'm a werewolf and this is my life. I'm going to be injured all the time and with the world getting darker outside, it's going to happen more. You guys can't just keep putting your lives on hold just because I'm injured. It's going to happen all the time, and besides, I'm used to being alone. It's nothing new and it's not life threatening so I don't need you guys to pause your lives just for me."

"Wow." Peter said with an annoyed look. "You make it so hard to care and be a good friend."

"What Pete said!" James shouted. He grabbed Remus's shoulder, turned him around and pushed him up the stairs. "And you shouldn't be walking around. You'll agitate your wounds. Is your mom not around?"

"She's never around anymore." Remus muttered angrily.

James nodded his head. "Do you get up often with these wounds?"

"I kind of have to since I am a….a human and have to eat and go to the bathroom." Remus said sarcastically.

James narrowed his eyes when he noticed his friend pause on the word human but let it go as it seemed Peter and Sirius didn't notice and might have been his imagination. But then again, as James looked at his other two friends, they were looking at a picture and arguing over it. He rolled his eyes. Those two would get distracted so easily.

"I hate bed." Remus grumbled when James pushed him onto his bed.

James snorted. "You hate bed? Remus, if I recall, you're the one always sleeping in."

"Yes, sleeping." Remus retorted, crossing his arms in an annoyed manner. "But I hate being forced to rest. It's boring. I'd rather be up doing something."

"Not with those injuries." Sirius said as he looked through the bookshelf. He grabbed a book at random and tossed it to Remus. "Here, a book. That should ease your boredom."

Remus glanced at it and threw it back. "That's our first year potions book."

"Oh good." Sirius threw the book back. "You need all the help you can get."

"I'm passed first year." Remus argued, throwing the book back.

Sirius snorted. "With all the explosions you cause and how many potions you blotch up when you are working by yourself, I find that hard to believe."

Remus threw him a withering look. But James coughed to bring their attention to him. "Right, Remus, stay here and rest. I'll go make lunch, okay?"

"You can't be any worse at making food than me." Remus murmured.

"Merlin, you even mess that up? No wonder you suck at Potions." Sirius commented before he was being chased out of the room by many flying objects from the little werewolf.

A laughing James followed Sirius and the flying objects from the room with Peter staying behind to help Remus find a book to read. "Wow Sirius, do you two ever stop fighting? I swear it's at least once a month there is a fight between you two."

A grinning Sirius popped over the stair railing to look at his friend coming down the stairs. "Well, it makes life fun, especially since most of the fights seem like jokes." He raised a brow. "Do you know how to cook?"

James shrugged. "A little and it can't be any harder than Potions, can it?" He gave Sirius an evil grin. "And besides, if something does go wrong, I can just blame it on you since you'll be helping me." His hand jumped out and grabbed the back of Sirius's jacket when his friend tried to runaway. Sirius ended up just screaming about injustice, evil friends forcing him into things he didn't want to do, and how it was all Remus's fault as he was dragged, struggling he might add, into the kitchen.

"Right," James said amused as he dropped Sirius into a kitchen chair. "What shall I make?" He opened the fridge and looked around.

"Something simple." Sirius muttered. "Like soup."

"That's not really filling." James argued, looking over the door at Sirius with a frown. "I guess I can make some type of chicken with it."

"Do you even know how to prepare chicken?" Sirius growled.

"Do you?" James retorted.

Sirius, huffing about idiots, got up and pushed James away from the fridge. "Fortunately for you, unfortunately for me, I do know how to prepare chicken. My mom made me learn to cook and prepare meals as part of my punishment for dishonoring the family so much during school."

James tried to hold back a smile, but didn't have much luck, and a few seconds later he was rolling around on the ground with tears of mirth rolling down his face. Scowling, Sirius kicked him in the side, but that did nothing to ease his laughter. After a few minutes of this Sirius was getting really annoyed. "Come on, Jamesy. I thought you wanted to make lunch."

James tried to stifle his laughter. When he looked at Sirius, a giggle came out. His friend looked at him with a murderous look, so he stuffed his hand in his mouth and struggled to his feet. "Alright, alright. Let's get started on this soup and chicken."

Up in Remus's room, Remus was stubbornly refusing any books that Peter handed to him. And for the life of him, Peter couldn't figure out what was wrong with his friend. Remus loved to read, and yet he was refusing every single damn book! He was getting beyond frustrated with his friend. And for the slightest moment, felt like knocking him out with a rather heavy and thick book he found. Of course he resisted the feeling, but that didn't change the fact that that feeling was there for even a moment.

"UGH!" Peter shouted, shoving a book back onto the bookshelf. "Remus, just tell me what the bloody hell you want to do already? I'm getting tired of having books thrown back at me."

"I want to fly." Remus said, glancing at his broom.

"I'm pretty sure that goes under the classification of not resting and James won't like that." Peter argued. "Soooo, no flying."

Remus crossed his arms stubbornly. "Wanna fly."

"No." Peter replied. "How about you draw a picture?"

"Wanna fly." Remus snapped.

"Once more, you can't. You need to rest and heal quickly." Peter said, rolling his eyes. "I don't know how Madam Pomfrey can stand you after the full moon." He looked around the room, trying to think of something that Remus could do. "How about-"

"Flying?" Remus asked.

Sighing, Peter turned to Remus, which was a mistake. His friend was sticking out his bottom lip, giving him sad, puppy eyes, and had his head tilted to the side in such an innocent manner. Peter clenched his eyes shut and look away. Begging just seemed to be a specialty of Remus's. "No, Remus, no, no, no."

"Please, Pete. Please, just a little flying, for only about five minutes." Remus pleaded.

"No." Peter said. "No."

"Come on, Pete." Remus pleaded. "I'm promise it will only be five minutes of flying and it won't do anything to my wounds. I'll be careful, I swear I will. I just want to fly. You know bed rest is boring."

Peter bit his lip. "Well, I guess….wait, what am I saying?" Peter growled. "No, I'm not listening." He grabbed Remus's broom from the corner of the room and left the room. "Not listening, not listening, not listening." He mumbled as he left the room.

He ran down the stairs, leaned the broom against the wall outside the kitchen, and entered it. Peter had to the stifle a laugh at the sight of Sirius wearing a flowery apron as he cut up chicken while James was cutting on carrots. Biting hard on his lip, he went into the living room where Mrs. Lupin kept her husband's old camera. He snuck a glance back into the kitchen and took a picture. The sound of the camera clicking caught the boys' attention and they turned to Peter with evil looks.

Grinning nervously, Peter ran and put the camera back before returning to the kitchen where Sirius threw a piece of raw chicken at him. "Eww." Peter moaned, peeling the chicken from his face and throwing it back before going over to the sink and washing his face.

"Find Remus a book, mate?" James asked.

"The stubborn git refused to do anything. He wants to fly. He was acting like a little kid when I didn't let him. Like a five year old, James, a BLOODY five year old." Peter replied with a laugh. "That is so not like him."

James laughed. "I get it, Pete. A five year old. He's just….bored, yeah that's it. It's just the boredom seeping through."

Peter raised a brow. "You really believe that's the reason?"

"It's all I got!" James roared. He softened his tone. "You didn't leave him with his broom, did you? I mean, I can't see Remus sneaking out to fly after we told him no and that he had to rest, but you never know…."

"No, it's in the hallway." Peter said.

"Actually," Sirius said, popping up behind Peter which almost gave the boy a heart attack. "You have to remember this is Remus we are dealing with. A sneaky little berk."

James put his knife down with a frown. "What'cha mean, Sirius?"

"He got his broom and is now flying." Sirius jerked his head in the direction of the window.

James and Peter ran over to the window and looked outside. The former twisted his head all around to get the best view, trying to find Remus. A second later he saw the boy swerving between the trees. "THAT IDIOT!"

Sirius chuckled. "What are you going to do?"

"Sirius, just finish lunch. Peter and I will get Remus." James grumbled, dragging Peter out the kitchen door by the arm.

"REMUS JOHN LUPIN!" James screamed, glaring up at the boy flying around.

"Hi James!" Remus shouted as he flew by.

"DON'T HI ME, REMUS! GET DOWN HERE NOW!" James yelled.

"You know, he must be a great flier to be able to fly with a broken arm." Peter said thoughtfully, making James glare at him.

"I don't care how good he is." James hissed. He glared back up at Remus, who was just floating above them now with a smirk. "WHAT THE HELL, REMUS? YOU ARE INJURED! YOU CAN'T BE DOING STUFF LIKE THIS!"

"But I like flying." Remus whined.

"I DON'T CARE! YOU WILL NOT BE FLYING WHILE YOU ARE INJURED!" James shouted. "NOW GET DOWN HERE!"

Grudgingly, Remus lowered himself to the ground where James snatched his broom away. "You're acting like an over-protective mother, jerk."

Rolling his eyes, James pushed Remus into the house through the kitchen door. "Honestly, Remus, did you take some type of childish potion or something? You're acting like a little kid today."

"Just wanted to fly." Remus muttered.

James sighed.

"DONE!"

Peter and James jumped in surprise. "What?"

Sirius glowered at him. "Food is done, prat. You know the thing you made me slave over."

"I didn't make you do anything." James replied, crossing his arms and looking away from Sirius in a snobbish manner.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"Where's Remus?" Sirius asked, eyes scanning the bookshelves in the living room. "Did he decide to go flying again?"

Peter snorted. "No, James confiscated his broom."

Sirius laughed. They had finished eating lunch and cleaning the dishes. When that was done, Sirius and Peter decided to laze around. The latter was lying on the couch, twirling his wand in his hand, and the former was looking at the books. "So where is he?"

"I think he is with James in his room." Peter replied.

Just as Sirius was ready to give up on looking at books, a title jumped out at his eyes. He grabbed the book and sat on the floor, back to the bookcase.

Upstairs in Remus's room, James and Remus were having a staring contest. "So," James bit out while trying not to blink. "My parents are taking us to Diagon Alley to get our supplies Saturday. You in?"

"Probably the only time I will get a chance to go, so yeah." Remus replied. "My wounds should be healed by then."

James gave a small nod. "And my mom can probably speed up the healing of your arm." His eyes moved to Remus's cheek real quickly to see the cotton on the cut starting to turn red.

"Did Sirius get his form for Hogsmeade signed?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, even if his parents don't like him much, they still signed it. Weird, huh?" James replied. "I can't wrap my mind around it."

Remus shrugged. "You're right about it being weird. But we don't know much about his family so we can't really figure it out, now can we?"

"I guess you're right. He's like you with your lycanthropy, refuses to discuss his family without some persuading." James muttered annoyed.

"And he complains about me not talking openly about my problems." Remus snorted, shaking his head.

James smirked. "HA!" He jumped to his feet, pointing an accusing finger at Remus. "You just closed your eyes!"

"What?" Remus snapped, slapping his face.

"I win, I win, I win." James sang while he danced around on the bed.

"Shut it, Potter. You have a horrible voice." Remus snapped.

James grinned down at Remus. "Somebody's a sore loser."

"More like somebody's a sore winner." Remus retorted with a smirk. He swung his leg out from under him which knocked James off the bed. Laughing, Remus looked over his bed at his friend. "James fell, James fell, James fell."

"Hahaha." James muttered sarcastically, looking up at his friend from his position. He looked at him with slightly calculating look. "You know, I just now noticed, Remus. I can't believe I was so blind, but your hair is getting rather long. Shouldn't you cut it?"

Scowling, Remus ran a hand through his shoulder length hair. "I would, but I don't want to waste my mom's money on a haircut. I don't know why Sirius liked his hair long at all. It's annoying."

A sudden grin came over James's face. "I'll cut it for free."

"NO!" Remus shouted. "I'm not letting you near my neck with anything sharp."

James rolled his eyes. "You worry too much. I'm not going to cut your neck." He grabbed Remus's arm and dragged him from the room and to the bathroom. Then he left and returned with a chair, that he placed in front of the sink, and a pair of scissors and a comb. He pointed at it while glaring at Remus. Pouting, Remus obeyed.

James just finished combing the knots out of Remus's hair and began to cut it when, "JAMES!"

James jumped in surprise. "WHAT? I'M BUSY!" He yelled annoyed. He had almost messed up in cutting Remus's hair because he was so surprised.

Probably from following James's voice, Sirius and Peter appeared in the doorway of the bathroom. The former opened his mouth to speak, but paused when he saw Remus and James, and blinked. "What are you doing?"

"Giving Remus a haircut." James replied like it was a normal thing to do.

"I'm surprised Remus let you near his neck with a pair of scissors." Peter muttered.

"I didn't. I was forced to let him." Remus corrected.

Smiling, Peter disappeared from the bathroom without another word. Sirius just shrugged when the other two looked at him in confusion. "Well, I can tell you what I have to tell you later. You can finish with Remus first." And with that, Sirius sat on the edge of the sink and watched James cut the hair of a scowling Remus, while laughing at the revenge and annoyance in Remus's eyes. Annoyed with the laughing, Remus tried to throw a kick at Sirius.

CLICK!

"PETER! Don't take a picture of this!" Remus snapped, trying to glare at his friend, but James forced him to remain facing the front.

"Sorry, Remus, couldn't resist." Peter said with a shrug.

"OH!" Sirius said excitedly, waving his hand in the air like a little kid who knew the answer to a problem on the board.

"Yes Mr. Black?" James asked with a laugh.

"Do you recall all those pictures that we took in the last two years we've known each other?" Sirius asked, a huge grin in place.

Remus groaned. "How can we not? Some of those were rather embarrassing."

"We should continue taking a bunch of pictures and make a photo book." Sirius said excitedly. "That way we can remember our adventures."

Remus and Peter stared at Sirius while James continued to snip at Remus's hair.

"And where do you suggest we get a camera?" Remus asked with a frown. "Pretty much all those pictures were taken by someone else and they just gave us the copy."

"Details, details." Sirius said unconcerned with a wave of his hand.

James snickered. "It's kind of an important detail, Sirius." He looked at Remus in the mirror with a satisfied nod his head. He brushed the loose hairs off of Remus's shoulders. "Well, what do you guys think?"

Sirius and Peter examined Remus's hair. His light brown hair was now short. The only part of his hair that was long enough to hang was the front where his bangs were that framed his face and went down to chin. There were some short bangs that covered his forehead.

"It actually looks good." Sirius said in shock.

"And you all doubted my ability to cut hair." James scoffed in offense. "Anyway, Rems, you got more grey hairs."

Remus groaned.

"Don't worry, Remus. When you come over to my house, I'll get my mom to use a spell to color your hair." James said.

"Okay." Remus muttered.

'That's the spirit." James said with a grin before turning to Sirius. "What was it you wanted to say?"

Sirius moved his eyes to Remus then back to James. Nodding his head, James looked at Peter. "Distract him." He mouthed to him, pointing at Remus as he did.

"Okay, what is it?" James whispered as he watched Remus and Peter go into Remus's room. Peter was talking excitedly about something with Remus nodding his head once in a while.

Sirius pulled the book he was reading off the bookshelf and showed it to James. "This book, _Human Transfiguration: Animagus_. It has a lot of information on Animagi. I think it can really help us in learning how to become them."

"I wonder why Remus has this book." James said, flipping through a few pages.

"I don't know why he has it, but we could use it. I bet he won't even notice that it's gone, and we can always return it when we are finished. I'm sure he won't mind once we figure this out." Sirius said.

"I guess." James said uncertainly after a few minutes of silence.

Sirius frowned at James. He knew how his friend felt about stealing. It was just one of those things he absolutely hated. It fell into the category of dishonesty, a category which drove Sirius crazy. James had a category for about everything and this certain category was one of the ones that Sirius hated the most. "It's not stealing, James. We're just borrowing without permission. We'll return it. Besides, what use does a werewolf have for this book and you said it yourself. His mom doesn't use magic anymore."

James nodded his head. "Alright, we'll take it for now. But you better damn well hope that it is helpful."

"Ha! Need a pic of Remus's new hair." Peter yelled as he ran down the stairs, camera in hand, with Remus trailing after him. "Group picture, everyone!" He pounced on the surprised James and Sirius, knocking them to the ground. Once the boys got to their feet, James grabbed the isolated Remus, who couldn't join in because of his wounds, and pulled him to them. Sirius being the tallest, held the camera up. James wrapped one arm around Peter's neck and his other around Remus's stomach. Sirius wrapped an arm around Remus's shoulders.

"Say cheese!" Sirius yelled before snapping the picture.

CLICK!

**A/N: If you don't understand my description of Remus's hair, you can go look at my profile picture. That's what his hair looks like. **

**Please Review! **


	5. Chapter 5: Hiking Revelations

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or the song, Moonlight Shadow by Groove Coverage. **

**Thanks for reviewing!**

**The Marauders Year 3**

**Chapter 5: Hiking Revelations **

"REMUS!"

Three pairs of arms grabbed the small boy into a group hug as he stumbled out of the fireplace. "It's good to see you guys too," Remus mumbled. "But I can't breathe."

And like that, the three pairs of arms disappeared and a shabby looking Remus could be seen. His hair was disheveled from the Floo and being ambushed by three rowdy boys. He wore his black pants with holes in them and a t-shirt with a golden wolf howling. His right arm was still in a sling, but the rest of the bandages were gone from what the boys could see.

"Come on, Rems. I told my mom you wanted your hair dyed and about your arm. She's more than happy to oblige on both accounts." James said with a smile at his friend. "Before that, TIPPY!"

When the young house-elf appeared, James ordered her to take Remus's broom and trunk up to his room before forcibly dragging his friend out of the room and outside to the backyard where his mother was sitting with a glass of lemonade. "Mom, Remus is here."

Forty-five minutes later found Remus, with his arm free of a sling, sitting down in the living room by himself. His light brown hair had been dyed to the color of golden brown. While Mrs. Potter was taking care of him his friends had disappeared somewhere. And wherever this somewhere was, it was bloody good because he could not find them anywhere. So that is how he found himself sitting in front of the piano in James's living room. His fingers gracefully moved across the keys.

"_The last that ever she saw him, carried away by a moonlight shadow,  
>He passed on worried and warning, carried away by a moonlight shadow,<br>Lost in the riddle that Saturday night, far away on the other side,  
>he was caught in the middle of a desperate fight, and she couldn't find how to push through.<em>"

So immersed in his song, Remus didn't notice or hear the footsteps entering the room behind him. Sirius raised a brow in surprise and when he went to open his mouth to interrupt, James and Peter each stomped on his feet. James jumped over the back of the couch and landed gracefully on the couch. Sirius leaned on the back of the couch, confused as to what they were doing.

"_The trees that whisper in the evening, carried away by a moonlight shadow,  
>Sing the song of sorrow and grieving, carried away by a moonlight shadow,<em>"

James shared a sad frown with his friends. Sing the song of sorrow and grieving? Remus was sad about his father's death, wasn't he? He couldn't blame him. There was just times when sadness about something suddenly hit someone and it twisted their heart around. Everyone feels it. It comes from being alone and being able to think too much. If that person's mind wanders to sad moments, they will feel this pain in their heart. _  
>"All she saw was a silhouette of a gun, far away on the other side,<br>He was shot six times by a man on the run, and she couldn't find how to push through._"

Sirius and Peter, who didn't get a quick lesson about muggle things, had no idea what a gun was. James quickly whispered that it was an instrument that muggles used to kill each other with. And surprisingly, even with his werewolf hearing, Remus still didn't notice them. He must be really deep in thought to not notice them.

"_I stay, I pray, I see you in heaven far away,  
>I stay, I pray, I see you in heaven one day.<em>"

One day, Remus would see his father in heaven. He was such a good and honest person. Peter had no doubt in his mind that the afterlife would be good to Remus. He smiled. In the end, death was a new adventure and it allowed one to see all their lost loved ones.

"_Four a.m. in the morning, carried away by a moonlight shadow,  
>I watched your vision forming, carried away by a moonlight shadow,<em>"

Sirius couldn't help but smile sadly. The moon haunted Remus all the time. Was the moonlight shadow a fear to Remus as well? Did he feel that the he was being carried away by the moonlight shadow with the stress of his lycanthropy? Was he alone with it, so alone that he was being carried away by himself? Somewhere where none of his friends or any of his loved ones could follow?_  
><em>"_Star was glowin' in a silvery night, far away on the other side,  
>Will you come to talk to me this night, but she couldn't find how to push through.<em>"

"_I stay, I pray, I see you in heaven far away,  
>I stay, I pray, I see you in heaven one day.<em>"

"_Carried away by a moonlight shadow,  
>Carried away by a moonlight shadow,<br>Far away on the other side,  
>And she couldn't find how to push through.<em>"

Remus finished instrumental part of the song, sliding his fingers lightly over the smooth plastic keys. He flipped his golden brown bangs out of his eye sight and spun on his seat. Shocked to see his friends there, he fell back against the piano, elbows hitting the keys causing a loud and annoying sound to ring through the room.

"Hi Remus." James said, amusement shining in his hazel eyes. "I didn't know you could play the piano."

"I was classically trained in it when I was younger since I had nothing better to do but read or run outside by myself. My mom had me start learning when I was six. I stopped taking lessons when I was eleven." Remus mumbled. "I never forgot how to play and like to play once in a while."

"Well, you're good and surprisingly, you have a good voice." Sirius offered.

Remus scowled at him. "Oh thanks. I didn't realize that it would be such a shock to you. I'm surprised none of you had heart attacks."

"Well, aren't you hurtful?" Sirius grumbled.

"Where did you guys go anyway?" Remus asked.

James smirked, pushing his glasses up. "Secret, Rems. By the way, I like the new hair color."

Remus scowled at him. "Whatever. And thanks, I guess. Look, Sirius, you wanted to make a photo book, right?"

Sirius nodded his head.

"Come with me." Remus said.

In his room, Remus's arms and head disappeared into his trunk while James, Sirius, and Peter sat waiting on his bed. He emerged about a minute later with a red leather book and a camera. "My mom ordered the camera for me from a wizarding magazine and it arrived earlier today."

"AWESOME!" Sirius shouted. "We have a camera now!"

Remus nodded his head as he jumped onto the bed with them. Though with four boys on the bed, it was rather cramped. Four boys who were growing on one bed did not allow a lot of room. "This is a photo book that I started when Sirius came up with the brilliant idea that he wanted a photo book."

Grinning now, Sirius reached over for the book, but Remus pulled it away from him. And seeing as there wasn't a lot of room on the bed and that James was between the two boys, this did not end up well. Frustrated with both of them, James pushed Sirius off the bed to get him off him, but Sirius was not going by himself so he grabbed his friend's ankle and pulled him down off the bed with him. They fell into a tangle of limbs, each flailing around. Remus leaned over the bed to laugh at them.

Glowering, James and Sirius each pulled an arm out of the tangled limbs and grabbed Remus's shirt and pulled him down with them. Falling on top of them, Remus groaned and whacked both his friends with the photo book.

CLICK!

"PETER! You are too obsessed with cameras." Remus shouted, trying to get free of James's and Sirius's hands.

"I can't help it that you guys are always getting into weird situations." Peter said with a shrug. He reached down and grabbed the photo book from Remus. "Can we look at the photos now?"

Peter opened the photo book to the first page. In Remus's neat, cursive writing was _Years of the Marauders_. Below the writing was a drawing of James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter standing arm in arm.

"Can never resist showing off your drawing skills, can you?" Sirius asked sarcastically, which made Remus stick his tongue out at Sirius.

"I was wondering about this picture." Remus pointed to the first picture. It was of Sirius and James skipping down the hallway. "Do you guys have any shame?"

"None whatsoever." James said with a grin.

"When was this?" Remus asked.

"I think it was one of the first times you left to go visit your 'sick mom'. I know it was before we got suspicious." Sirius said.

"But why were you skipping?" Remus asked.

Peter snorted in amusement. "This was the first time you left in our first year. Sirius and James were bored and trying to find a secret passage."

"But the skipping!" Remus screamed impatiently.

"They're insane." Peter suggested with a shrug. "Honestly, Rems, I don't know why they were skipping."

The next picture was of James sitting on a sleeping Remus, waving a chocolate frog over his face. Remus's head snapped up to grab the frog, snatching at James's fingers as he did, with Sirius standing in the background laughing.

"Ah, the day you almost bit my hand off." James said wistfully.

"You should know not to tempt me with chocolate." Remus replied with a smirk.

"Didn't know how obsessed you were with chocolate at that point." James retorted.

"Not obsessed. It's just really good." Remus snapped.

Peter snorted. "Please, that is like saying James only thinks Lily is pretty and doesn't really love her like he does."

Scowling, James threw a pillow at Peter.

"OI!" Peter snapped.

"Warranted." James replied with a smirk.

"Huh?" Peter asked confused, looking towards Remus.

Remus, who was looking at a picture of a pink haired Peter throwing a shoe at Sirius, didn't even bother to look up. "It means he was justified in his action and you can't do anything about it, except retaliate if you want to."

"OI! What is this?" James demanded, pointing to a picture of Remus and Lily in the common room. The picture really irked him because Lily was lying on the couch with her head on Remus's lap and Remus was running his fingers through her hair.

Rolling his eyes because he knew this was the reaction he would get, Remus threw the pillow back at James. "That is me sitting with my _friend _Lily, who was upset because she saw you guys picking on Snape, who I might add, is her friend."

James snorted. "I don't understand why she hangs with that greasy git. I mean, he's a Slytherin and we all know they are truly evil gits."

"And you wonder why she hates you." Remus muttered, mostly to himself.

"Oh, whatever." Sirius snapped the photo book shut. "Let's go do something. It's getting too hot in here." He pushed passed James and Remus to get off the crowded bed, which was probably why he was so hot. All the bloody body heat. "Honestly, Rems, I don't understand how you can stand to wear long pants in the summer."

Remus raised a brow. "Do you see my arms?" He raised his arms, which were beginning to get some color since the full moon passed. They were covered in white scars. "I hate revealing any amount of skin because my scars can be seen."

"What are you afraid of?" Peter asked.

Remus shook his head with a frown, running a finger over the leather cover of the photo book. "Anyone intelligent could realize what the scars mean or they might assume I'm cutting myself or my parents abuse me. It's just best and easier to hide them."

"Makes sense." James replied, taking the book and putting it back in Remus's trunk. "We can go for a hike in the forest if you're bored, Sirius."

"Alright." Sirius drawled.

In the backyard, Sirius was leaning against a tree, watching Peter juggling three apples that fell from the apple tree. He didn't even know the boy could juggle. Remus was sitting against the tree, head leaning against Sirius's knee. Grinning, Sirius threw the apple he took a bite from at Peter. Surprised, Peter stumbled back a little and barely caught the apple.

CLICK!

"Thanks for adding that to the picture, Sirius." James said with a grin as he approached the group with Remus's camera in hand and a rucksack on his shoulder.

"Why do you guys insist on touching my camera?" Remus whined.

Laughing, James grabbed Remus under the arm and pulled him to his feet. "Come on, time to hike."

"What took you so long?" Sirius asked as the boys entered the forest. He cast James an annoyed look.

Before James could reply, Remus intervened. "Want to bet that he was writing another love letter to Lily? _Oh, my dearest Lily-tiger, I miss you so much. It feels like a knife is twisting around my heart each day that I don't see you. To be able to see you again would be like heaven on Earth. You brighten my day…_"

"Shut up, you prat." James snapped, whacking his friend. When Remus glared at him, he said, "Warranted."

Remus groaned. "I hate wherever you learned that." A grin came to his face. He ran ahead of his friends a few steps, stopped, and like an expert, spun on his heels to face his friends with a grin. "James kept the first love letter he wrote to Lily. He said it would be the first rejection from her and that she'll say yes someday. He's far from being done with asking her out."

The boy in question stared open mouthed at Remus, while Sirius and Peter stared at James for a moment before they both fell onto the ground laughing. James took it all, but his cheeks were turning pink in a blush. "Yeah, laugh, you jerks. But you won't be laughing when I marry her."

This even sent Remus into a fit of laughter. He clutched his sides in pain from laughing so hard. "James!" He shouted from his laughter. "You're…HAHA…th-thirteen….HYAH….You can't….GYAAAH…."

"And you, you traitor." James glowered at Remus. "You said you wouldn't tell anyone."

Remus grinned at him as his laughter fell to a chuckle. "We're all friends here." He said, giving James a cheeky grin.

"Maybe Sirius and I should have left you as a shy little boy." James grumbled.

"Naw, Lily would have come to me and helped me with that little problem." Remus smirked at his friend.

Scowling, James pulled Sirius and Peter to their feet. "Yeah, just keep rubbing it in my face that you're friends with her." He snarled, pushing his giggling friends forward. "And just so we are clear, Marauder rule: No Marauder is allowed to flirt, date, kiss, ask out, or be in love with my Lily-flower!"

"Are you bloody serious?" Peter asked shocked.

"No." Sirius snapped. "No one, but me can be Sirius. I thought you would have realized that by now, Peter."

James snorted and hit Sirius's arm before turning to Peter. "Of course I am. Can't have Remus here stealing my girl, can I?"

Remus threw his arms up in the air in disbelief. "I cannot believe you. I have no interest in dating her, James. She is just a friend."

"A friend who hates your guts now since you are a Marauder." Sirius added.

"No." Remus shook his head. "She sent me a letter last week asking me to forgive her for trying to make me forget you guys. So, we're friends once more."

"And you can put in a good word for me!" James said excitedly.

"No." Remus said immediately.

Just as quickly as the excitement came, it was gone, and James was pouting at his friend. Seeing as Remus was pointedly looking away from him, James stopped pouting and fell onto Remus, hugging around the neck from behind. "Please Remy! You're my only hope!"

"I will not put Miss Evans through the torture of having to not only deal with you at school, but having to hear me talk positively about you as your wingman. It will not do any good and it will just make her and me both miserable." Remus said blandly, unwrapping James's arms and letting him fall to the ground. When his friend hit the ground, he heard the sound of glass clanking together. He turned to his friend with a raised brow. "Okay, what is in that bag of yours?"

Grinning, James opened his bag and pulled out a bottle of butterbeer that he passed to Remus. "Butterbeer of course. Best drink ever." He passed a bottle to Peter and Sirius before taking one for himself. "This is why it took me so long to get out here."

"You're forgiven." Sirius said without hesitation. Butterbeer was one of his many weaknesses.

Remus scoffed. "Pathetic."

Sirius threw him a nasty glare. "You're one to talk. You agree to anything the moment we offer anything chocolate."

Huffing, Remus kicked at the ground. "I'll have you know that chocolate can heal anything."

"Really?" James asked snidely. "Can it heal Sirius's stupidity?"

"OI!" Sirius threw his bottle cap at James, which bounced off his forehead. At James affronted look, he smirked and sang, "Warranted."

Scowling at his phrase being stolen, James traipsed ahead of his friends. He jumped over a fallen tree, took a swig from his butterbeer, and belched. Sirius and Peter laughed while Remus rolled his eyes at him. "Got any manners, James?" He snarled.

"Lighten up, Remy." Sirius swung an arm around Remus's shoulder.

Rolling his eyes, Remus drank half his butterbeer in one go. "If I lighten up, Sirius, who will be the sane one of the group to make sure you three don't get expelled or killed or injured in all the insane stuff that you guys do?"

"Sane one?" Peter snorted. "Remus, you are far from being sane. Do you actually believe you are sane? Cause really, you have to recall everything you did with and without Sirius and James. Let's think shall we." He gave Remus a look with a slightly mad, but very amused glint in his eyes. "You actually enjoy reading school books and do your homework willing–"

"Throwing Sirius down the stairs because he woke you up–" James interrupted.

"You insult people when you do commentary for Quidditch matches–" Sirius added.

Peter's eyes lit up. "Oooh, you scared all the first years before their sorting last year by pretending to be ghosts–"

"You continued to get up and back on your broom, no matter how many times you were knocked off when you played that Quidditch final for us–"

"You're still friends with Sirius and James–"

"OI!"

"You use our fears–"

"OKAY!" Remus yelled, waving his bottle around frantically, spilling butterbeer on his hand. "I get it. I'm not completely sane, but I'm much more sane than the rest of you. And I'm the one who keeps us out of trouble."

"What about me?" Peter asked offended.

Remus raised a brow. "Pete, if you had any amount of sane anything in you, you would be long gone by now. I'm mean Sirius and James are completely insane, but then add my little bit of insanity into the mix, and you have a disaster waiting to happen."

Chuckling, Peter took a swig of his butterbeer. "Fair point, Remus, but still, don't you think I'm might be saner than you?"

"NO!" Remus shouted. "I'm the sane one."

"No, I am."

"No, me."

"Me."

"Me."

"Me."

"Me."

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU TWO!" Sirius shouted.

Remus and Peter stopped to look at Sirius confused. The former raised a brow and frowned. "You don't have to yell. I have sensitive hearing."

"And what are you so upset about?" Peter asked.

"You two are arguing about who is the most sane in our group of friends." James shouted as he was laughing so hard. "I'm mean really, how is that sane?"

The two boys glanced at each other. Remus tilted his head and examined Peter. The aforementioned boy blinked, then grinned at his friend. "We're not sane!" Peter said in sing-song. They swung their arms around each other shoulders and clinked their bottles together with a laugh.

CLICK!

"REALLY?" Remus shouted, escaping from Peter to tackle Sirius. "Stop touching my camera."

Sirius groaned under Remus. "But that was my first time touching your camera."

Chuckling, James and Peter helped their friends to their feet. "Well, this has been a productive day, no?" The former asked with a slightly insane grin.

"Productive?" Remus snorted.

"Why do you have to question everything?" James complained.

"I'm not questioning it. I'm saying that today wasn't productive. We didn't do anything!" Remus cried.

The black haired boy guffawed and hugged his friend around the neck from behind once more. "Oh, Remy, Remy, Remy," He shook his head in fake exasperation. "Today was really productive. We got to learn you could play the piano and sing. We learned Peter can juggle. Your hair is no longer grey. Sirius was even more of a prat than usual today."

"OI!" Sirius shouted, tackling James to the ground, though that didn't go well as the boy was still hugging Remus from behind.

"Seriously," Remus groaned from under his friends. "Why do I always get stuck in the middle when you two are fighting?"

"Rotten luck," offered Peter.

"Oh," snapped Remus, pushing himself off the ground which caused his friends to roll apart and onto the ground. "Honestly, you two are heavy." He rolled his stiff shoulders. "I'm surprised my back isn't broken yet."

James reached into his bag and pulled out a chocolate frog. He offered it to Remus with a winning smile. "My sincerest apologies, oh wonderful and powerful Remus, who is my dearest friend that I care so much about and would never do anything to hurt him…."

"Oh, shut up." Remus shouted, snatching the chocolate frog from James.

"Aww, Jamesy, where is my froggy? Don't I get a beautiful apology too?" Sirius whined pathetically, giving James a very hurtful look.

Smirking, James took a frog out but instead of offering it to Sirius, bit its head off. "Sorry, jerks who like to tackle me don't get one of these wonderful frogs."

Crossing his arms with a pout, Sirius turned to Peter. "Can you believe these jerks, Pete? How dare they hold out on us?"

Peter nodded his head in a solemn manner. A smirk was curling at his lips. "We shall have to get them back for this. What do you say to a midnight attack with buckets of flowery perfume, dresses, some make up–"

"AND a love potion!" Sirius shouted excitedly.

Remus had a look of horror on his face, but James was suddenly grinning. "That! Just gave me a brilliant prank idea!"

An evil grin came across Sirius's face as well. "I wonder, are we thinking the same thing? Slytherins–"

"In pumpkin juice–"

"During breakfast–"

"House-elves–"

"Teachers–"

"Lady Bo–"

"Highly illegal to have at Hogwarts!" Remus interrupted.

James and Sirius shared exasperated smiles. "Remus, haven't you learned by now? It is only illegal if you get caught!"

Remus blinked in shocked at his friends, then smacked his forehead. "That is the worse logic I've ever heard!"

Laughing, James and Sirius hooked their arms and skipped around in a circle. Peter chuckled at them, while Remus whacked his head against a tree, mumbling about idiotic friends who could never be responsible if their lives depended on it.

"Rems, you should realize that these two don't care about rules ever." Peter said.

Sighing, Remus nodded his head. "Yeah, but I can hope once in a while that those two will gain a few brain cells and stop breaking all the rules."

"You're asking for too much." Peter replied, grinning at his friend. "Maybe start with something a little simpler and move from there."

"Like?" Remus demanded. "Nothing is simple with them."

Peter gave a downcast look. "I see your point."

James glanced back at Remus and Peter having a quiet conversation while he and Sirius jumped around. He let a small smile come across his face. While he and Sirius were the eccentric, loud Marauders, Remus and Peter were the ones who were quiet with their own crazy ideas and didn't act as crazy as he and Sirius as much. But that was good. It meant that while he and Sirius were off at Quidditch practice or doing something so insane that they didn't want involved, they had each other. James hated to exclude his friends from activities and didn't want any of his friends to feel alone. It was part of the reason that it hurt him so much to learn about his friends' lives at home. He would do anything to keep them happy and in one piece, even sacrifice trips he's been looking forward to like a trip to France to keep them grinning. At times he was slightly mad at them for having bad lives which caused him to sacrifice things he wanted to keep them happy.

Remus looked up from his conversation with Peter and his eyes locked with James. And in that moment, James realized he could never truly be mad at him or upset that he had a bad life. It wasn't his fault. The hidden hurt that James learned to see in his friend's eyes was shining brightly through and it took all of James's self-control not to yell out in pain for his best friend. His friend who had to sit alone at his house because his mother was too busy with work to be with him. Sometimes James thought he might be better off in an orphanage or living with Jason or Selene. At least then he wouldn't be alone. That loneliness was cutting into his heart, and it surely wasn't helping his lycanthropy.

His eyes moved to Peter, little Peter, who was abused by his father. His father who loved Peter's sister greatly and slowly went insane because of her death. Her death must have hit him hard to cause him to start drinking and abusing the people he loved. One of the many conversations he had with Peter was about his sister. He said that his father always loved his sister more than him. And that hurt Peter greatly, much more than any wound his father gave him. To be loved was something Peter valued. It was why he tried not to disagree with his friends so much. He didn't want them mad at him. Maybe he was afraid they would hit him if he disagreed as well. James didn't know, but he really hoped he didn't think that.

And Sirius, his first friend at Hogwarts. He looked at the boy who was still skipping ahead of him. As the boy in question turned to his friends with a wild grin, James knew the boy was happy, happy to be with friends. But there was still that look in his eyes. A look of utmost hatred that he gave all Slytherins. The look came from his family mostly, his Pure-blood, hating all things Muggle, dark, Voldemort loving family. For that, he hated all Slytherins. He couldn't stand them because of his family. Sirius wasn't always happy, but for his friends, he would try to keep that grin in place. Like Remus, he didn't like to share his problems. He would rather deal with them on his own.

His friends probably didn't think James looked that deeply into them. They probably just thought he saw what was on the outside and what they let him see. But James wasn't blind. If he was, he wouldn't have noticed Remus disappearing all the time and the looks he gave his friends when he thought he wasn't looking. A look that said, these boys really are my friends and don't hate me. It was a look that James hated. He hated that Remus could think he would hate him because of something he couldn't help. If he was blind then he wouldn't notice Sirius's eyes staring at the owls swooping in at breakfast with worried eyes that he would get another hurtful letter from his parents or the look he gave his friends when his temper was revealed and he said hurtful things to his friends. That look was silently asking for forgiveness. He never wanted to hurt his friends, but when he does because his temper, he's afraid that he's gone too far. If he was blind, then James wouldn't notice that Peter stares out a window with a longing look, probably wishing that his father didn't hurt him and that his mother was back to him or the way he took notes in class like a good student, but couldn't understand it at all. And when he turned to his friends, he saw the fear in his eyes when he asked for their help. A fear that said, please don't hate me for not understanding as quickly as you do.

And for all this, James would quench the angry at his friends for getting in the way of his plans. They were his friends and they had bad lives before Hogwarts, and still do. He grew up with a perfect life and still had it, just with three amazing friends added in. And those friends needed him to keep them together and sane. Remus and Peter argued over who was more sane, but in James's mind, he was the sane one. And that was just because his friends' bad lives made it hard for them to be sane. The one with the good life would stay here always and watch them and silently pick up the pieces of his friends when they are brooding or scared and put them back together with a prank, a game of wizard chess, chocolate, flying, midnight run through the castle, or whatever it was he thought they needed at the time. He would be there to fix them, even if they didn't realize it, and that was the way he liked it.

**A/N: Remus was supposed to play a song from the 1970s or 1960s on the piano, but I don't know music from that time and it was too much of a pain to listen to old music and find a good song that was played on the piano so I just chose a song that had a piano that I knew. Not what I wanted, but we all just have to deal with it. **

**Imagine the photo book as the one that Hagrid gave Harry. It should look like that. **

**Please Review! **


	6. Chapter 6: Diagon Alley

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. **

**Thanks for reviewing!**

**The Marauders Year 3**

**Chapter 6: Diagon Alley **

James, a big smile in place, ran down the street with Sirius at his side. Behind him he could hear Remus yelling at him and giving death threats, that for the first time ever, James thought he might actually go through with. For a moment, a moment in which Remus threatened death to them by setting them on fire and sending their ashes to their moms in an envelope, James thought they might have gone too far. But it was for only a moment because than he saw Sirius's maniac grin and couldn't help but laugh.

He pushed a wizard, who was looking into the Quality Quidditch Supplies shop, out of the way. The wizard yelled at him and Sirius, but neither boy spared him a glance. He heard Remus give the man an apology, causing James to roll his eyes. That boy was always apologizing. It was getting a bit annoying actually. Hopefully he could remember to scold him later for all the apologizing he did.

In front of him, Sirius pushed through a group of people, earning a lot of angry yells. Ignoring them, James followed after his friend. Once again, he heard Remus yell an apology at the group they just pushed through. He looked over his shoulder at his friend, and suddenly regretted it. Remus looked absolutely furious. Only he could look extremely scary while wearing a fluorescent purple robe with yellow polka dots and having pink skin.

In retrospect, James did know that it wasn't wise to look behind when he was running away from someone, especially in a crowded area. Why? Because when he looked forward once more it was because he ran into someone's back, and that someone was his best friend who was grinning up at a couple that had stepped into their path. Sirius, surprised at being hit from behind, looked back to see James on the ground and rubbing his face and Remus laughing nearby. Peter caught up to them finally, rubbing his side and wheezing.

"Damn it, Sirius. Why did you stop all of a sudden?" James whined.

Chuckling, Remus looked at the couple with a smile. "Hello Selene. It's been a while."

"Remus? Oh Merlin! What happened to you?" Selene asked shocked, taking her cousin by his shoulders and looking him over.

That got Remus to stop laughing and to scowl. "My so-called friends." He grumbled.

Giggling, Selene removed the spells from Remus. She looked at his hair with a smile. "Your hair is different?" She asked it as a question since she was confused.

Blinking, Remus ran a hand through his slightly spiky bangs. "Of course, I haven't seen you since the funeral." He cast David, Selene's husband, an annoyed look. He was blaming him for keeping him from his cousin. "James cut my hair a few days ago than his mom dyed it for me."

"James?" Selene looked at the smirking boy with a soft smile. "I remember. I met you and Peter at St. Mungo's one day when Remus came in. So that must mean this other handsome lad is Sirius Black." She gave Sirius a quick look since Remus groaned and she had to give him her attention once more.

"Selene, don't inflate his ego any more than it already is." Remus muttered.

Laughing, Selene looked back at Sirius, who was now looking smug, and thought that Remus might be right this time. Shaking her head, she looked at James. "Well, James, I'll have you know, if the career you want in the future doesn't work out, you could always become a barber. You are quite good at it."

"Why thank you, Ms. Lupin. It has always been a dream of mine to cut hair." James said with a charming smile and extravagant bow.

The man next to Selene laughed. "That's great to hear, boy, but you are wrong about her name. You should address her as Mrs. Shanz."

Blushing, James offered his apologies, saying that he forgot she was married. Next to him Sirius sighed. "James, how could you forget she is married? I mean she is such a beautiful woman. You couldn't really expect her to still be single?"

Selene laughed again. "Well, Remus, you certainly know how to pick your friends. Handsome, caring, charming, and they sure know how to flatter a girl."

Remus smiled. "You should see the fan clubs that Sirius and James have."

"WHAT?" James and Sirius shouted. Remus looked at them surprised. How could they not notice the hoards of girls staring at them?

"Fan clubs?" James whispered in horror. "Oh, this is bad."

Sirius blinked. "Why is it bad?"

"Don't you realize that crazy fan girls become obsessive and possessive?" James said with wide eyes.

"Well, I don't know about the possessive thing, but I know you have one thing in common with these fan girls, Jamesy." Remus said with a grin. He leaned in closer to James. "They're obsessed with you in the same way you are obsessed with one Miss. Lily Evans."

Blinking, James stared at Remus for a moment before letting out a war cry and tackling Remus to the ground. "I AM NOT OBSESSED!"

"You kept the first love letter you wrote to her after she rejected you! If not obsessed, than what?" Remus shouted through laughter and being shaken violently by his so-called friend, who now that he thinks about it, should be called an ex-best friend!

David pulled the boys apart, giving each of them a look that said to behave. James brushed the look aside as if it was dust and grinned his usual I-feel-no-shame grin at Selene and his friends. Selene began scolding the boys for fighting and running around Diagon Alley like crazed animals so none of the boys, except Remus, noticed the nasty glare that David gave Remus. He was glaring at the scars on Remus's face and hands. Subconsciously, Remus pulled the sleeves down over his hands. That sparked an interest in David. Usually when he saw people do that it was because of nerves or they had something to hide. David wasn't an Auror for nothing.

"Okay, Selene, we get it." Remus interrupted, dragging his eyes from his cousin-in-law. "But we really have to go. We are school supplies shopping and we promised Mrs. Potter that we would be back in," He stopped to look at his watch. "Two hours and we haven't even started yet. I'll talk to you later." He pushed all his friends away from the couple, looking over his shoulder at David with a frown. That man could not be trusted. Why didn't anyone else see this?

"Uh…Bye Remus!" Selene yelled after him, sounding a little uncertain.

"Rems? What was that about?" James asked, but Remus wasn't listening. The boy had stopped and was leaning against the wall. His head was tilted to the side and his eyes were slightly out of focus. "Remus?"

Remus put a finger to his lips to silence his friend.

"Why is your cousin covered in scars?" David asked.

"I told you. He is really clumsy and gets hurt a lot." Selene snapped back defensively.

"I don't think he would be clumsy enough to end up in St. Mungo's." David replied coolly.

"Are you trying to imply something?" Selene snarled. "My cousin is completely fine, just a little clumsy. Everyone ends up in St. Mungo's once in a while."

"Yes, adults who are out fighting against Voldemort. Not little kids. You're hiding something from me, Selene, and I don't like it." David growled.

Sighing, Remus pushed off the wall and looked at his friends.

"What was that about?" Sirius demanded; worry was shining in his eyes.

"Sorry, I had to concentrate to be able to hear my cousin and David talk from here." Remus replied.

A funny noise escaped from James. "You can hear them from here with all these people around?"

"Sure." Remus said with a shrug. "It just takes a lot of concentrating and I kind of don't notice my surroundings when I do it so it wouldn't really be a safe thing to do if I was in a very dangerous situation."

"You should have told us that sooner. It would have been helpful when we sneak around and you have us covering your back so you wouldn't have anything to worry about." James said, before frowning. "Why were you eavesdropping on your cousin anyway?"

"I don't trust David." Remus grumbled.

Sighing, James shook his head. "Remus, you have some serious trust issues. He seemed like a nice man from what I saw. You can't act like everyone is out to get you. He doesn't even know your secret."

"But he's suspicious." Remus argued.

James rolled his eyes. "You're worrying over nothing. He probably won't care. Not everyone is prejudiced. Really, Remus, you're hardly around him. There is no way he could find out since you're hardly see each other."

"He's an Auror and is trained to be perspective. And a fully trained wizard." Remus muttered.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "James is right. You're too paranoid. Come on, we finally reached Gringotts."

Remus looked up the white building with a frown. The only reason they were coming here at the time was because of him. Peter's aunt gave him the money he needed before he came to James's. James got his money from his parents not that long ago and Sirius's mom threw him a bag of money that was supposed to last for the school year. And Remus was shocked when he saw the bag. It was a lot of money. He didn't need that much money.

"Come on, Rems." James huffed, dragging his friend into the bank. He dragged his friend all the way over to a goblin and knocked his fist on the desk. "Excuse me. We would like to visit a bank."

The goblin, Ragnok, Remus noted from the gold plate on his desk, looked up with a frown. "And which vault is that?"

"The Lupin vault." James said while pointing at Remus.

"And does Mr. Lupin have the key?" Ragnok asked in a tone that Remus did not find all that pleasant.

"Of course." Remus bit out politely, and handed the key over to Ragnok. The goblin quickly inspected it before calling another goblin over to take them to the vault.

"Wooh!" Sirius cheered as he climbed into the cart. "We get to go on a ride."

Rolling his eyes, Remus jumped into the cart next to him. He wasn't sure which was worse, this cart or the Knight bus. It was a hard choice, to him at least. The only thing he was glad about was that his vault wasn't that far underground. But he was feeling anxious. His friends were coming to his vault with him, which meant they were going to see how little was in his vault.

James, noticing the worried look his friend was wearing, leaned towards him. "What's wrong?"

Remus shook his head.

Frowning, James started to reply, but never got the chance because the cart slammed to a stop and Remus immediately jumped out of it.

And when James saw his friend look at him with a blush and embarrassed eyes when the vault was open, he wanted to throttle his friend. How dare he feel the need to be embarrassed by the amount of money he had? James has never once said anything to him about his money problems. None of them had. They didn't care. Money didn't make a person.

But when James glanced into the vault, he couldn't help but feel horrible. Inside it was a small stack of Galleons and about four small stacks of Sickles. That would barely get him through school. Actually, James thought it wouldn't even get him to sixth year. Scowling, James cast a look at Sirius and Peter, who were looking sadly at Remus, who avoided their eyes as he got his money. He didn't want their pity. He just wanted out of there.

None of the boys spoke while they traveled back up. Remus was stubbornly looking away from them, cheeks still pink in embarrassment. He knew his friends didn't care about him being poor, but that didn't change the fact that they pitied him for him. He didn't need them to know that he already knew that he wouldn't be able to get through school with this money. It would probably all be gone by the end of his fifth year.

Sirius, giving his friend one more sad look, plowed onto the street. "Slug and Jiggers Apothecary is right here. Let's get our potions ingredients."

While Remus was gathering his potion ingredients with Peter, James and Sirius were in a corner of the store with a piece of paper. On the paper was a list of ingredients with a mass next to it. Sirius pointed at one of the ingredients with a frown. "We can't get Shrivelfig here."

"I know what that is. It can usually be found in a forest. Forbidden Forest, you think?" James asked.

Sirius nodded his head. "If not, we can sneak some out of the greenhouse at school. And swiggy seaweed can be found where there is water. We can try the Black Lake at school. It needs to be fresh according to the instructions so we'll have to get it from the lake when we need it."

James murmured his agreement. "Do you think everything else is here?"

Skimming over the list, Sirius frowned and shook his head. "Ptolemy, Slughorn has that in his storage cabinet. And we are two of his favorite students. I'm sure we can get it by asking and saying that we are working on a special project."

"Of course we could get it, but Sirius, what if he asks what we need it for? This is," James checked that the coast was clear and lowered his voice. "Illegal. And what if he wants to see the results of this project? Besides that, what if someone overhears us? You know what the gossip train is like at Hogwarts. Our reputations will be ruined if people learn we are doing an extra project. And Remus will get suspicious because we can't tell him about this project. Not only that, but what if Slughorn thinks we're making a potion for a prank?"

Sirius held his hands up in defeat. "Alright, alright. I get it. We don't ask. We can find out a way to get it without asking."

"Get what?"

"NOTHING!" Sirius and James yelled. The latter shoved the list in his pocket. When they turned around with sheepish grins, it was to see a completely bewildered Peter.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Sirius put a hand on Peter's shoulder. "Peter, don't do that to us again. We thought Remus was around."

"We're talking about ingredients for the potion for need for Operation Moony." James explained quietly, hoping that Remus wasn't trying to focus on their conversation from wherever he was in the store.

Peter nodded his head. "I'll get the ingredients on the list while you get the ones we need for school. I already got mine and this way, Remus won't be suspicious."

"Thanks Pete." James said, handing the list over to Peter. He quickly told him which ones not to bother with on the list at the moment before leaving with Sirius.

As they were leaving the store, Remus cast his friends a suspicious look. He noticed that Sirius and James disappeared for a while in the store, then when they showed up, Peter was nowhere to be found. Then again, that might have had something to do with James and Sirius dragging him to certain areas of the store and not letting him go look for Peter. What were they up to?

James, noticing the suspicious look, quickly distracted Remus by dragging him into Flourish and Blotts. This worked perfectly because Remus loved books and as soon as he had all his school books, found another book that looked interesting, _Most Wonderful Hexes and Jinxes of the 1960s_. While he did that, Sirius and Peter disappeared behind a book about Animagi without his knowledge.

"You can give up on that." James whispered to them. "The clerk would never sell a book like that to a couple underage wizards."

Groaning, Sirius shoved the book back on the shelf. "Great, all the books we need and we can't get them. Where's Rems?"

James waved his hand towards the other side of the store. "Over there reading a book. I'll get him."

"What'cha reading?" James asked, sitting down next to Remus.

The other boy looked up at his friend with a small smile. "Just a book on hexes and jinxes. It's really interesting. And it is, what are you reading."

James took the book and looked at it, ignoring his friend's correction of his English. "Hmm. You love books a lot."

"Yeah, so?" Remus muttered.

"Oh, nothing. I'll get you the book, kay?" James said, standing up and walking away.

"No!" Remus shouted after him.

"Sorry, can't hear you." James called back.

Grumbling, Remus looked at the book that was shoved into his hands by a very insisting James. "James…" He whined.

Rolling his eyes, James hit his friend's arm. "Look, Remus, I have a lot of money. I don't have a problem buying you a book. It didn't even cost that much."

"But James, you have no reason to get me a book. And I can't even pay you back at the moment." Remus argued, shoving the book in James's hands.

"ARGH!" James shouted in frustration. He grabbed Remus's bag and shoved the book in it. "Listen to me, Remus. I don't need a reason to get something for my friend. Oh, and Remus, you're my friend which means, YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY ME BACK!" With a satisfied smile, James stalked away to where Sirius and Peter were waiting, watching the two in amusement. "What else do we need?"

"Um…robes and I want to get a pet." Peter said.

"Okay." James said. He checked his watch. "And we should still have time to go to Gamble and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop and Quality Quidditch Supplies."

Entering Madam Malkin's store, Sirius quickly spoke to Madam Malkin, wanting to get out of here fast and go to the quidditch and joke store.

"So, you all need robes?" Madam Malkin asked.

"Three." Remus corrected. "I don't need any."

James scrunched up his brows. Frowning, he looked at Sirius over Remus's head. Sirius shrugged. They all knew that Remus couldn't afford these robes and felt bad about that. And from his reaction to James buying him a book, they knew that Remus wouldn't accept robes from them.

"Okay, Rems, why don't you go get your robes from somewhere else," Peter struggled out, looking away from Remus so he wouldn't see the pity. "And we'll meet you in front of Magical Menagerie."

Remus nodded his head and left the shop.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"There you are, Remus." James said when he saw his friend approaching them. Peter was holding a grey kitten with black stripes. "Peter just brought his cat and we brought ink, parchment, and quills. Here is yours." He handed the supplies that was Remus's over.

"James…"

"Shut up, Remus. We're going to the Quidditch shop now." James said with a tone that gave no room for argument.

"What took you so long, Remus?" Sirius asked as he examined a broomstick servicing kit.

"Hmm?" Remus mumbled as he watched his friends browse. "Just ran into Lily and stopped to talk to her for a while."

Sirius gave an annoyed sound.

Rolling his eyes at his friend's dislike for the red head, Remus checked his watch. "You do realize we have to be back at James's in thirty minutes and you guys still want to go to the joke shop, right?"

"That reminds me." Sirius muttered. "I was planning on ordering a few packs of butterbeer to take to Hogwarts that we can hide in our dorm for when we want it."

Remus smacked his forehead at the blatant rule breaking. "Of course you would."

*Y*E*A*R*3*

Stumbling out of the fireplace, Peter clutched his kitten more closely to his chest to keep her safe. He looked up to see Mr. Potter sitting on the couch with the Daily Prophet. "Hello Mr. Potter."

Charlus looked up with a smile. "Good to see you boys are back." He said as the fireplace flared up once more as Remus came through.

Remus dusted himself off and smiled at Charlus.

"Did you boys have a good trip?" Charlus asked once James and Sirius were through.

"Yeah, it was awesome. We got to meet Selene and David there, Remus's cousin and her husband. They were really _nice_." James said, casting a significant look at Remus, who scowled.

"That's good. Get anything worthwhile for the school year that's not for school?" Charlus asked with a knowing grin. Part of allowing the boys to go alone was so they could get stuff that wasn't school supplies without his wife knowing and trying to take it.

Sirius grinned at James. "Oh, yes, we did."

"Well, if your mother catches you," Charlus grinned at James. "I didn't know."

Laughing, the boys grabbed their bags and took them to their rooms. Remus took the time to put his stuff in his trunk while Sirius, James, and Peter just threw their stuff on the ground. Remus took the book that James brought him out and looked at it with an annoying smile. He was happy to have the book, but felt horrible having his friend buy it for him.

"Hey Remus, what are you doing?" James shouted as he poked his head into the room.

Remus shoved the book into his trunk and stood up. "Nothing. What is it?"

"Time for dinner." James said, flashing his friend a grin.

Nodding his head, Remus followed him downstairs where Sirius and Peter already were. Sirius was telling Peter a joke, waving his fork in the air in a crazy manner as he did. Peter was laughing at the gestures and saying that he really shouldn't be swinging his arm around so much because he could lose the fork and probably seriously injure someone. Sirius took offense and was telling Peter that he was a beater and never once lost his bat, and at that moment his fork flew from his hand and stabbed the wall. Peter raised his brow at his friend, said there was a first time for everything, then broke into peals of laughter along with James and his parents. Remus just smiled when Sirius shot him a help me look and sat down, grinning widely when his friend mouthed traitor at him. These were his amazing friends, who didn't care about his lycanthropy or his poorness. And these moments were greatly cherished by him.

**A/N: Please Review! **


	7. Chapter 7: Craziness of Returning

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. **

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I've been watching anime and reading manga and going to school. Truthfully, I didn't feel like doing work on this or any other stories. **

**Thanks for reviewing!**

**The Marauders Year 3**

**Chapter 7: Craziness of Returning **

Peter rushed up the stairs. "James, have you seen Dusk?"

The black haired boy poked his head out of his room. "Your cat? No, why?"

"I can't find him. And we have to leave." Peter shouted in a panic.

Shrugging, James dragged his trunk from his room. "Under you bed?" He suggested. His friend nodded his head and disappeared into his room while James began dragging his heavy trunk down the stairs. Before he even reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw a smug and amused looking Remus, leaning against the wall. "You could help."

"Why?" Remus drawled, looking away with a smirk. "You guys are the ones who waited until the last minute to get your packing done, so it is your problem that you have to rush to get everything now."

"Yes," James growled out through clenched teeth as he reached the last step and dropped his trunk. "But if we don't get out of here soon, you're going to miss the train along with the rest of us. So I think it would be wise for you to help."

Laughing (though James would like to point out that it looked like it caused his friend pain), Remus grabbed James's trunk and helped the boy carry the trunk into the living room where Charlus and Maria were waiting with Remus's trunk, broom, and owl. He was just getting ready to set the trunk down when James yelled that he forgot to grab his broom, dropped the trunk (resulting in Remus falling over at the sudden weight he was holding), and run back to his room. As he was running up the stairs, he ran into Sirius dragging his own trunk and broom down the stairs. Both boys rolled down the stairs and landed into a heap at the bottom with a broom and trunk sliding down and stopping next to them. James heard Remus giggle at them, but decided to wait until later to get revenge.

Peter rushed down the stairs a few seconds after James got to his room. A cage was in his arms with a small kitten inside it.

"Anything else?" Charlus asked amused when James rushed into the living room.

Remus, staring at the moon pendant that he was turning over in his fingers, looked at his friends with an amused smirk. James shot him an annoyed glare while the other two acted like they didn't see it. "Nope, I think we are good." Remus said for his friends.

"I'll Apparate James and Sirius and Maria will take Remus and Peter." Charlus decided. With a quick couple flicks of his wand, all the boys' stuff (excluding the animals and their cages) was shrunk and he put them in his pocket.

"Are we sure we got everything now?" Maria asked, looking at the boys with a frown. "Because we aren't coming back if you have forgotten anything."

"Yes Mom. You can just mail anything we forgot." James replied exasperated. "The train leaves in fifteen minutes, we have to go."

"Alright. No need to worry, James. You'll get there in good time." Maria replied, taking Remus's and Peter's hand.

When their feet slammed into the ground of Platform nine and three-quarters, James felt the need to retch and fall over, seeing as Apparating was a new experience for him. Thankfully his father kept him from falling over, but he still had the queasy feeling in his stomach. Sirius and Peter looked dizzy and queasy just like him. When he looked at Remus, he saw the boy looked much greener than he ever saw him before. He looked around to see adults all around, some with little kids too young to go to Hogwarts, saying their last good-byes to their kids. Next to him, his father enlarged his stuff along with his friends' stuff.

"Thanks Dad, Mom." James said, giving each of his parents a hug.

"Oh, Jamesy, I'm going to miss you so much." Maria said, brushing a gentle hand over her son's face. She brushed his bangs out of the way and kissed his forehead.

"Mom." James whined.

Maria chuckled. "Oh, right, you're no longer my little boy anymore. You are now my little man."

James wiggled away from her, allowing Sirius to take his place and feel like a child being loved by his parents. "Thanks for letting me escape my family at your house." Sirius said with a huge grin, hugging the Potters. "I love your house."

"We have to have you over more often then." Charlus said, shaking the boy's hand after hugging him. "I hope you and James don't cause too much chaos this year. I don't think I could handle another letter from Minerva."

Laughing, Sirius gave him a mischievous grin.

"I had fun as well, Mr. Potter. Thanks for having me." Peter said, hugging Maria.

Maria smiled. "It was our pleasure, Peter."

"Thank for having me over." Remus said politely, but wearily, as if all this was taking a lot out of him.

"Oh, Remus," Maria hugged the small boy tightly, which surprised him greatly. When she released him, her hand ran gently through Remus's hair. "Take care of yourself this year. I don't want to have to hear that you've greatly injured yourself and have to go to St. Mungo's again. I don't think your friends, mom, or me could handle that stress again."

Remus smiled, but James noticed that it wasn't his usual smile. It was a tired and seemingly more forced smile. "I'll be fine. I'm used to the full moons by now, Mrs. Potter."

"Oh, this is just not fair. I still remember the day you were brought into St. Mungo's after your attack." Maria said quietly.

Remus grimaced.

"Take care of my boys, Remus, and do try to keep the three of them out of trouble." Maria said softly, brushing his bangs away and kissing his forehead as she finished. She frowned a second when she touched her forehead, but didn't get a chance to say anything because Sirius interrupted.

"OI!" Sirius said affronted. "Where is my kiss?"

Laughing, Maria kissed Sirius's forehead, then Peter's. "Happy now, boys?"

Sirius gave a grin, while Peter blushed.

Rolling his eyes, but with a soft smile, James ordered his friends to get on the train because it was leaving in five minutes. Once Charlus had helped the boys get their trunks on the train, Maria pulled James aside.

"Mom, the train…." James whined.

"I know, I know. I just want to tell you to watch out for Remus, alright? As he gets older, the transformations will become more painful and the days before and after the full moon will be worst. It is going to be especially bad now because he'll be entering puberty and after this stage he'll be a full grown werewolf. He'll need his friends more than anything at this stage." Maria explained quickly. She wanted to explain more, but the train whistling meant she didn't have time.

James glanced at the train. He jumped onto the train, poking his hand out the door window. "Mom, I'm never going to leave Remus. He's like my brother. I'll keep him safe. Don't you worry!"

"I know, dear." Maria said with a worried frown. "Dear, I think the stress from the full moons is getting to him because he felt a little warm to me today."

James nodded his head.

"We actually made it." A laughing Sirius said behind him as the train started to move. "What did your mom want?"

"Tell you later." James hissed to him quietly when he saw Remus looking at him curiously as well. "We need to find a compartment."

James trudged down the train, peaking into compartments as he went. Most of the compartments were full of students, which made sense seeing as the train just left the station. It wasn't until they got to the end of the train did they find an empty compartment.

"Finally," Sirius shouted, pushing passed James into the compartment. "Hey James, help me out here." He pointed at his trunk.

Rolling his eyes, James picked up one end of the trunk and with Sirius, heaved it into the rack above them. Grunting, he pushed up hard on it. "What….do you…have…in here?" He huffed out.

"The Butterbeer!" Sirius said, rolling his eyes at James's stupid question.

Smacking his forehead, James grumbled about idiotic friends as Sirius helped him get his trunk on the rack above them. Looking over his shoulder he saw Remus just kicked his trunk under the seat along with Peter doing the same. With his trunk out of the way, Remus plopped down on the seat, head resting against the window as he watched the scenery flying by.

James sat across Remus and watched him for a few minutes. He saw Remus's eyes move to him for the briefest moment when he felt eyes on him before they turned back to the window. He watched as his friend shifted in his seat and brought his arms around his chest with a shuddering breath. A frown formed on James's face. After a few minutes of silence, in which Sirius and Peter stared at James, confused as to why he was staring at Remus, James turned to his other friends. "You guys, I have a feeling this year is going to be great."

"And why is that?" Sirius asked surprised by the sudden statement that broke the silence of the compartment.

"He thinks Evans will say yes to him this year?" Peter suggested with a smirk.

James threw him a nasty look. "No."

"Finally given up on that bird?" Sirius asked with a raised brow.

"No." James shouted, whacking him. "She will go out with me one of these times. This is going to be a great year because Malfoy and your cousin are gone, I've got great prank ideas, and so much more!"

A sudden grin spread across Sirius's face. "I forgot that they were gone this year! Thank Merlin, I no longer have to deal with them except when I go home for summer. And even then, I barely have to deal with them because I'm locked in my room or doing chores around the house."

"So you're not going home for Christmas or Easter?" Peter asked.

Sirius shook his head. "Not even if they order me to. I'm not having a repeat of last year."

"Awesome! We all have to stay this year for Christmas." James said excitedly, looking over at Remus. "You staying this year, Remus? You haven't once stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas. You're really missing something great."

"I don't know." Remus replied quietly. "It's too far ahead for me to know what is going to happen then. I really do want to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas at least once."

"Then make sure you aren't busy this year." James said, frowning slightly when he saw his friend squeeze his eyes shut.

Sirius noticed it to, but didn't want to bring attention to it because he knew Remus would hate it. As far as he knew, it was probably nothing or just a small headache. Nothing that needed attention brought to. "Jamesy, do you remember last year when we were hid in the Entrance Hall at the beginning of the feast?"

"How could I forget?" James replied with a laugh. "Remus scared the first years greatly. It was one of the funniest things ever! Why?"

"Well, I was just remembering that the speech was exactly the same as when we were first years. I wanted to see if it was the same this year." Sirius said with a shrug.

James snorted. "You want to spy on the first years again just to see if the speech is the same."

"What? Do you think that McGonagall has a new speech? I don't think she is that original." Sirius argued.

Rolling his eyes, James agreed. "Fine, we'll spy on the first years again. Mostly because I think it would be fun. Spying is always fun."

"YES!" Sirius shouted, pumping a fist in the air.

This resulted in a groan from Remus and him pressing his head harder against the cool window.

Sighing, James got off the seat and leaned over Remus. He gently cupped Remus's chin and turned his head to him. "Remus," He said, brushing his hand to his friend's forehead. Heat suddenly flooded into his hand. "Remus, you have a fever and a headache, I'm guessing since you are wincing at all noise. Is there anything else that is wrong?"

"I'm fine, James." Remus tried to say normally, but a grimace at the sound of his own voice ruined it.

"How bad is your headache?" Sirius asked quietly with a tone of worry.

"Oh, honestly!" Remus shouted, pushing James back into his seat. "I'm fine, I swear."

"No, you aren't." James hissed quietly. "My mom told me that your transformations get worse as you get older and it's going to be especially bad as soon as you enter puberty. The stress of your lycanthropy is getting to you, and stress, really bad stress, can cause one to make oneself sick. Remus, why didn't you tell us sooner that you were stressed about all this?"

Remus shook his head. "I'm fine, James. It's nothing I can't handle."

"We know you're strong, Remus, but the strongest of us have to fall at some point. You're not falling yet, but if you keep pushing us out and not telling us when something is wrong, we won't be there when you fall so we won't be able to help you." Peter said, laying a hand on his friend's shoulder and looking at him with soft, caring eyes.

"Being rather deep today, aren't you?" Remus said sarcastically.

"Take a nap." James offered. "That usually helps my headaches. Hopefully you'll feel better for the feast tonight."

Remus gave him a grateful smile. "Okay, but don't let me ruin your fun train ride."

James waved him off. Peter jumped to the opposite bench and sat next to Sirius so Remus could lie down on the bench. The bespectacled boy took his jacket off and bunched it up. He slid it under Remus's head, got a grunt from the boy as thanks, and sat back down to talk quietly with his friends.

"My mom told me about the transformations becoming worse for Remus as he gets older." James told Sirius and Peter with a frown. "The time before and after the full moon is also going to get much worse. I'm not a hundred percent sure what she means by that. I'll have to find a book or something. She asked me to watch over him more around that time."

Sirius snickered. "I'm sure he'll really like that. He already yells at us for caring too much and now we have to keep a closer eye on him? He'll bite our heads off. It's been nice knowing you blokes. May we all rest in peace!"

Laughing, James shoved Sirius. "Which is why we going to have to try to be more subtle about it, Sirius. That's why I wanted to wait when he wouldn't be listening to us. He can't know about this."

"So the stress from the previous full moon and him dealing with it on his own is what made him sick?" Peter concluded.

"My guess." James muttered. "Any ideas for a prank during the feast? I kind of forgot about our opening prank and haven't planned anything!"

"Jamesy!" Sirius shouted dismayed. "If you didn't bring it up while we were at your house, and we didn't bring it up, what makes you think any us remembered the prank that none of us planned or thought about!"

James threw him a look that would cause Voldemort to shy away. "Remus is sleeping. Don't yell."

"Sorry." Sirius said, not sounding all that sorry, with a shrug. "Any ideas, Pete?"

"We could just not do a prank today." Peter said with a shrug as he dug around his pocket. "We don't have the time or equipment for a prank. Aha!" He pulled a chocolate frog from pocket and ripped it open.

"We're Marauders!" Sirius replied excitedly, waving a hand around. "We can't not do a prank."

"Then why don't you come up with something." Peter retorted around the chocolate frog head in his mouth.

"I will!" Sirius said stubbornly.

Smirking, James gave a small laugh at the serious look that Sirius adapted to think of a prank. His friend shot him an annoyed look that James expertly ignored as he pulled Remus's trunk out from under the bench. He shifted his friend's stuff around until he found the old wizard chess set that he had. He stood Remus's trunk up in front of Peter and set the board up. When the board was set up, he sat on the bench Remus was on by putting his friend's legs on his lap. "You can go first, Pete."

"Checkmate!" Peter announced half an hour later.

"WHAT?" James shouted, leaning forward to look at the board. "You cheated!"

"No, I didn't." Peter replied with a smirk. He pointed at his pieces cheering while his queen kicked James's king off the board.

"Fine, I concede." James grumbled. He looked at Sirius, who was now lounging with his back against the window. "Stealing my seat, are you?"

"You have a seat." Sirius said.

James rolled his eyes and threw one of his pawns at Sirius. "It may not have crossed your mind, Sirius, but I don't want to spend the whole ride with Remus's legs on me. They are rather bony. Boy really needs to put some fat on."

"Not my fault." Remus mumbled, surprising the boys. But he didn't say anymore. He just rolled over so he was facing the back of the seat. His left arm wrapped around his head and a few minutes later his breathing was evened out.

"Riiiight." Sirius muttered.

"Sirius, think of an idea for a prank yet?" James asked.

Sirius had the audacity to look sheepish and mutter something about forgetting that he was supposed to be thinking of a prank because he was hungry and waiting for the trolley to show up.

"You are unbelievable." James said, shaking his head.

"I'll think of something yet." Sirius retorted.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"I cannot believe that he slept the entire train ride." James said as he tightened his tie. He looked at his sleeping friend, who really looked way too peaceful for someone who turned into a monster one night a month.

"Not true." Peter argued as he tied his shoe. "He woke up after our game of chess, even if it was only for a few seconds, but technically, he was awake."

James rolled his eyes. "Fine, I concede to you again!"

Sirius gave a bark like laugh. "How many times are you going to lose to Peter today?"

James glared at him. "Shut up, you…..you….damn it."

"HA! Now you lose to me!" Sirius and Peter fell into fits of laughter.

"Damn, I am off my game today. What is wrong with me?" James muttered, running a hand through his messy hair.

"Today?" Remus snorted, looking up at his friend from his position on the bench with a mischievous look. "James, I hate to be the one to point it out, not really, but there has always been something wrong with you. It's not just today."

The boy in question stomped his foot childishly. "Is it pick-on-James day?" He complained. When the person who is supposed to be the nice one and support him nodded his head, James narrowed his eyes at his friend. Anyone who didn't know James would miss the playful glint in his eyes and truly think that the boy was furious. "How are you feeling?" James asked with a somewhat creepy smile, though it did seem a little caring.

"Um…fine. My headache is gone at least." Remus replied worriedly.

"GOOD!" James shouted. He jumped on the bench, straddling his friend, and started to attack his ribs mercilessly.

Remus shouted with laughter and his limbs flung around, trying to dislodge his friend. It didn't go well since James grabbed his wrists in one hand and pinned them against the window. Loud laughter continued to bubble from Remus's mouth as he looked desperately and pleadingly at Sirius and Peter, who both decided to sit back in their seats and enjoy the show.

"PLEASE JAMES!" Remus shouted, kicking legs around to try to dislodge his friend. "I-I….GYAH! HAHAHA!...I'M SORRY!"

"What the hell is going on in here?"

James raised his hand away from Remus's rib. The pale boy collapsed into heavy breathing and was silently praying to anyone who was listening that he was grateful for whoever walked into their compartment at that moment. While he did that, the other three boys were looking at the compartment door with amused looks.

"Frank! Alice! You guys are Prefects?" James asked.

Frank nodded his head. "What are you doing to Remus?"

"Oh, nothing much." James said with an innocent grin.

"FRANK! ALICE!" Remus shouted. "Hel-mmph!"

Sirius had to hold back a laugh when James slammed his hand over Remus's mouth. He looked at the Prefects and saw them looking just as amused at him. "As you can see, Jamesy here is just torturing Remus. Nothing you two need to worry about….unless he decides to start using curses….would you do that to poor Remy, mate?"

James adapted a serious look. "I don't know, mate. I probably should. He could be a traitor after all."

"Traitor?" Peter shouted in shock.

"Oh yes, our little Remy is acting more and more like a Prefect as each day goes on." James said gravely.

Remus tried to talk but it all came out muffled.

"Well, as long as they aren't any curses flying around…." Frank said, trailing off as he left the compartment.

Giggling, Alice looked at each boy. "Just so you know, Angel is Head Girl this year. Oh, and we will be arriving in Hogsmeade in two minutes. You might want to get changed, Remus." Then she was gone as well.

Some muffled shouts came from Remus but they were ignored as James turned back to him with an evil grin. Remus internally groaned. _How dare those Prefects just abandon me like this? _He thought as he once again howled with laughter.

Outside in the hallway, Alice shook her head with an amused smile and looked at her boyfriend who was laughing at the third year boy's torture. It didn't seem likely that Remus was going to get into his uniform in time at this rate.

"I must thank you, you great prats." Remus grumbled, rubbing at his sore ribs. He looked at his friends in the carriage with a stubborn frown. "I really do enjoy having my ribs viciously attacked by four-eyed, messy hair, arrogant toerags."

"Oh, hahaha." James replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "You're just upset that you didn't get your uniform on.

Rolling his eyes, Remus smiled. "So, how do you guys plan to spy on the first years? I doubt that all four of us will fit under the cloak anymore. We're not the little first years we were when James first got it."

"I don't know, Rems." Sirius said gravely, looking at his other two friends sadly. "I think you could fit right in with the first years. I don't think you've grown at all."

Remus glowered at him. "Prat."

"Oh, he wouldn't fit in all that well. McGonagall would notice him right away. His physical features are way too unique." James added with a smirk.

"Cept his hair. He changed that over the summer." Peter said.

"ARGH! I concede yet again, Peter. Stop doing this to me." James shouted, before falling into a pout and muttering about losing to a pudgy git who was enjoying this way too much and that he was off his game so something was seriously wrong, especially when it was Peter he was losing to.

Sirius snickered at him.

"Nutters." Remus said, shaking his head, but with a fond smile.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

Walking slowly, the Marauders made sure they were the last ones in the Entrance Hall. The moment he saw the last student enter the Great Hall, James whipped out his cloak and ushered his friends into the Chamber of Reception. Remus grabbed the cloak from him and threw it over his three friends when they were clustered in a corner. He kneeled down to make sure their feet weren't showing, and instead saw three pairs of shoes.

"Guys, crouch a little or something. Your feet are showing." Remus whispered.

A moment later the shoes were gone and Remus was staring at the door that led to the Entrance Hall. He shifted his eyes to where his friends were hidden. "McGonagall is coming with the first years."

"What are you going to do?" James's voice asked.

"Maybe I'll just stand here and wait for her to come through the door and see me and yell at me to get out of here." Remus muttered.

"Do you really want another detention?" Sirius asked. Remus could practically hear the smirk he was wearing.

"Hide behind a suit of armor?" Peter suggested.

Shrugging, Remus disappeared behind a nearby suit of armor just as the door to the chamber opened and McGonagall was seen ushering the frightened first years into the room. One of them stumbled a little on his robe. James watched as Remus's hand darted out and grabbed the back of his robe before the boy could fall on his face and pulled him back up. In all the chaos of the first years stumbling around and being nervous, his hand went unnoticed. Someone would probably think it was just another first year. James knew better because he saw the white scars lining the hand.

McGonagall swept her eyes over her new students, her stern exterior was making some of the students shake even more, before beginning her speech. "Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room."

"This is sounding exactly like her speech for the last two years. Can't she come up with anything new?" Sirius whispered.

"Well, I'm guessing from the looks of it, no she can't." James retorted.

"No need to be snappy." Sirius replied.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points." At this point, McGonagall had a frustrated look, which caused each of the Marauders to stifle a laugh. They knew exactly why she was frustrated. "At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

James waited until he was sure McGonagall was gone before he whipped the cloak off and stuffed it under his shirt. He smirked at Sirius when the boy stared at him in shock. All the first years were nervously looking around and talking to their classmates so they didn't notice three boys appear out of thin air.

"What do you think the sorting method is?"

"My older brother told me we have to duel an older student."

"OH, REMUS!" James said in a sing-song as he pulled the boy out from behind the suit of armor. "What'cha say to us getting sorted for a second time?"

Remus snorted and pushed his friend off him. He saw the first year students looking at the four older students in fear and sighed. "You can't be sorted again. McGonagall isn't going to call your name since we aren't even supposed to be here."

"Awww." Sirius whined. "This isn't fair."

Rolling his eyes, Remus pushed Sirius's shoulder. "Oh, shut up. Life isn't fair. We should get out of here before–"

"Before what, Mr. Lupin?"

A groan escaped Remus's throat as he turned around to see McGonagall looking at him with a steely glare that only she could pull off. He gave her an innocent smile. Really, what else was to be expected? He's been friends with Sirius and James for two years. Telling the truth right off the bat just wouldn't be very Marauderish of him at this point. "Well, Professor, I missed watching the Sorting last year because you didn't let us go to the feast. Honestly, I still wonder why we couldn't go to the feast. It was just a silly prank. I just want to get to the Great Hall before the sorting was to begin so I may see it this year."

"Is that so?" McGonagall said, looking at her student with suspicious eyes. "Where is your uniform, Mr. Lupin?"

James planted a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter, but Sirius showed no restraint and started laughing loudly. Remus shot them a glare over his shoulder. "Professor, a uniform seems like such a trivial thing. I mean they make school so bland and boring. Being able to dress freely and in whatever you want is a good way to express yourself." He blinked and tilted his head to the side as he looked at her with a sudden frown. "YOU! How dare you? You are trying to destroy our creative minds and turn us into mindless zombies who cannot think for themselves. That is despicable. You lowly, evil, foul, wick–"

With a flick of her wand, sound stopped coming out of Remus's mouth. "Really, Mr. Lupin, I think you are spending way too much time with Mr. Black. You are becoming more and more dramatic like him."

Remus flashed his professor a grin since he couldn't talk anymore.

"Now, I will remove the charm, but when I do, I want straight answers. Understood?" McGonagall asked.

Remus nodded his head and the charm was lifted. "Okay, well, I was sleeping on the train and I woke up near the end of the ride to hear James, Sirius, and Peter talking so naturally I jumped right into the conversation. James, the big great jerk that he is, didn't like my input so he jumped me and started to mercilessly attack me….."

"It was just tickling!" James intervened when McGonagall glared at him. He shot his friend a look that promised revenge if he didn't tell the story truthfully.

"Fine, fine." Remus said, waving his hand at James. "He started to tickle me mercilessly. Then he stopped and it was because our new Gryffindor Prefects, Frank and Alice, came in. I thought I was finally going to be saved from the evil James," He shot James an impish grin. "But alas, it was not meant to be. They left me to the four-eyed monster after a few minutes and he continued his ruthless attack. And by the time I was set free, we had to disembark from the train. So you see, this is all James's fault, but we could also say it is Frank and Alice's fault as well since they didn't help me escape."

McGonagall pinched the bridge of her nose and took a few deep breathes. "Forget I asked, forget I asked, forget I asked…And why are you four in….forget it, I don't want to know. In the Great Hall now. We have to get the Sorting underway."

"Prat." James mumbled to Remus as they led the first years to the Great Hall. "You made me out to be the villain in your story." He spun to Remus, took him by the shoulders, and shook him violently. "I am not a villain, man!"

Remus laughed and shoved James off him. "Jamesy, you're just proving my point that you are the villain here."

"I don't need this! I'm a Seeker! How could I be evil?" James shouted and shoved the Great Hall doors open and stomped away with Peter following.

Remus and Sirius shared a look and burst out laughing. The latter fell against Remus's side from laughing so much. That was until McGonagall's tapping foot behind them brought them back to their senses. They immediately sobered up, Sirius gave her an I'm-an-Angel grin, and they ran into the Great Hall after their friends.

"I hope we didn't scar the first years this year. McGonagall would not like that." Remus muttered as he slowed to a walk.

"We didn't even do anything to scar them. No prank or nothing." Sirius pointed out.

"I don't know. Seeing your face can give me a right scare. Think about those poor first years who had to see it even before they were sorted." Remus said solemnly. He shoved his hands in his pockets and bowed his head with slouched shoulders.

Sirius shot him a glare. "I'll have you know that my face is a perfect face. Those firsties should be honored that they got to see such a perfect face as mine. They don't come along often."

Remus snorted. "I see modesty is lacking in your family."

"Where were you guys?" Lily asked when the sorting was over and the feast had begun.

Remus gave her a grin. "Oh, just on a little adventure."

"You guys weren't out trying to lose house points and get detention before the term even begins again, were you?" Lily asked suspiciously, eyes narrowed as she looked at each Marauder in turn before focusing them on Remus.

The boy shook his head. "No Lily. That was not the plan. McGonagall didn't even do anything when she did catch us. She just told us to get in here."

"What? Has she just decided to give up on giving you four detentions now because she saw how utterly pointless it is?" Lily asked, raising a slim red eyebrow elegantly.

"I wouldn't know." Remus said with a shrug. "Maybe she decided to just ignore us today."

Lily nodded her head. "I would hope so. You, well not you Remus, mostly your friends, need detention. Even if it doesn't teach you a lesson, it is good because it keeps you from spending all your time plotting, which will give all the students and teachers some relief." She said with a teasing smile at Remus.

"Ooooh, my dear Lily-tiger, you wound me." Remus replied dramatically, clutching at his heart. He fell against her shoulder with his eyes wide and not blinking. Neither of the two noticed the angry and jealous look that James sent Remus.

Giggling, Lily shoved Remus off her. "My claws could never hurt you, Remus. You are my knight in shining armor. How could I ever hurt thee?"

"Oh, my Princess! You have made me feel honored." Remus replied, grabbing her petite hand and planting a small kiss on it. "Allow me to escort you to the tower tonight, Princess. I shall protect thee from anything that comes our way as par the Knight Code."

"Why thank you, my good Knight." Lily replied politely with a smile.

"Remus," James hissed.

Remus gave Lily a little nod of his head and turned to James with a frown when he saw the boy glaring at him. "I know what you are thinking." He said as he lowered his voice so Lily couldn't hear him. "But James, I only like Lily as a friend. I would hope you would know that I would never date a girl that one of my friends liked. She and I are just friends."

The black haired boy blinked. "You sure, Rem?"

"Of course I'm sure." Remus said blandly and with an eye roll. "They're my feelings. I think I know how I feel about someone. And what I feel for Lily is nothing but platonic. So stop worrying your knickers off about it. Like I'm about to betray my best friend's trust for a girl."

"Sorry Rems." James muttered.

Remus shrugged. "Whatever, James. I was expecting something from you if you saw that I was Lily's friend once more."

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"You know, I was surprised." Lily said as she and Remus walked through the corridors of Hogwarts.

Remus raised a brow in confusion. "Surprised? About what?" He shoved his hands in his pockets and slouched his shoulders as he walked. In his right pocket, his hand was running over the smooth handle of his wand.

Lily looked at her friend skeptically. "Well, there was no prank during the feast. I even noticed the professors looked surprise. Are you guys finally stopping that?"

"Oh, that." Remus replied with a laugh. "No, I don't think they are done. We didn't do one because they forgot to plan one and didn't remember until we were on the train. I guess they tried to think of one but we didn't really have any supplies ready and I couldn't help them because I was sleeping since I didn't feel well earlier."

"Are you alright now?" Lily asked with genuine concern in her voice.

"Absolutely peachy." Remus said with a grin. "That nap on the train really did it for me."

"Well, I'm glad there was no prank. It means we all got one more day of rest before the Marauders' craziness starts again." Lily decided after a few minutes of silence.

Remus nodded his head. "Understandable. Even I can't stand all of it and I'm their friend. It's nice to escape from it once in a while."

Lily murmured her agreement, flipping her head to the side to get her wavy hair out of her face. "How was the rest of your summer?"

"Not normal. I was at James's for the last month of it with Sirius and Peter. So you see, I have to deal with them much more than anyone else in this school. I still don't know what I did to deserve this." Remus replied, eyes shining with mirth. "Oh, woe is me!"

"Shakespeare." Lily said, eyes brightening up even more than they were.

"Point to Ms. Evans!" Remus replied in his announcer voice. "So you read his stories as well?"

Lily nodded her head, red hair bouncing behind her. "My favorite by him is Romeo and Juliet. They do so much for love, even go against their families. I hope I can someday find someone who would want to die for me like Romeo does for Juliet. It's so tragic but so beautiful."

"I personally like Julius Caesar." Remus replied.

"Makes sense. There is more fighting in that and less romance." Lily replied with a smirk. "Just like a boy."

Remus stuck his tongue out at her. "Sorry for my gender being all wrong for you."

Lily laughed and shoved Remus's shoulder.

Smiling, Remus came to a stop in front of the Fat Lady. "Hello."

"Hello." The Fat Lady replied. "Password?"

"Seven Little Dwarfs." Remus replied, stifling a laugh. "Who chose that as the password?"

"Head Girl and Boy choose the passwords." Lily pointed out as she smacked his arm. "And our Head Girl is a Gryffindor so you might want to shut it."

"Fine, fine." Remus said, holding his hands up in defense. "It is the most wonderful password ever."

Lily nodded with an evil grin. "Good doggy."

"I'm not a doggy." Remus argued.

Giving a quick laugh, Lily sobered up and looked at her friend in a fake serious manner that was obviously fake by the amusement shining brightly in her eyes. "Well, my dear Knight, you did a wonderful job of getting me here safely. And for that," She stood up tiptoe and gave Remus a small peck on his cheek.

"Hmm, this is just like when we were at your house." Remus said with a grin. "As long as James doesn't see me, I think I shall not get killed. Good thing he isn't down here."

"Oh," Lily huffed irritably. "Does he still have that silly crush?"

Remus nodded his head. "Oh, yes he does. So we must make sure I don't get killed."

"You're the Knight here, so I think you should handle that on your own." Lily replied impishly.

Remus hung his head with a tired sigh. "Oh, such an evil little witch you are."

Laughing, Lily bid her friend good night and went up to her dorm where she was ambushed by her friends who demanded to know what happened and if anything was going on between her and Remus. Oh, the rumors were going to be flying around if anyone saw her kiss Remus in the common room, even if it was only on the cheek! Damn the Hogwarts rumor train!

**A/N: I can't seem to help myself. Every time I have a headache and write, I have to make one of my characters feel miserable with me. It is true after all, misery enjoys company. **

**Stress does make one sick, though it being a cold I don't know. I only made myself sick from stress once and that was when I was thirteen. Doesn't really seem possible for a thirteen year old to be that stressed. Anyhow when I did that I got strep throat, so I'm only assuming that getting a cold from stress is a lot easier than strep throat…or whatever. **

**Please Review!**


	8. Chapter 8: First Day Back Adventures

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. **

**Thanks for reviewing!**

**The Marauders Year 3**

**Chapter 8: First Day Back Adventures**

With a tired yawn, Remus walked down the stairs to the Gryffindor common room. He had woken up late once again. It wasn't a surprise during the summer as he was usually alone, but this time, he was expecting to be assaulted by his friends to wake up or he would be late to breakfast and classes. Unless this was like the time they let him sleep in and miss class on purpose.

Just as he reached the last step, Remus felt himself grabbed by his tie and pulled out of the common room. Blinking, his eyes followed the hand to its owner to see Sirius tugging him down the hall with a worried look. "Uh….Sirius, what are you doing? I'm not that late, am I?"

"You fool!" Sirius hissed without looking back at his friend. "Do you know what James, Peter, and I met the moment we entered the Great Hall today?"

"Should I?" Remus asked confused. This was a strange turn of events. He was expecting to be running late, not be dragged along the corridors by his tie by a frantic friend.

Sirius stopped in front of a staircase to turn to his friend with a dark frown. "We met an inquisitive Alice demanding to know when you and Lily started dating."

Those words caused Remus to turn as pale as a ghost as the moment of last night came back to. Lily, standing on tiptoe, planting a small kiss on his cheek and giving him a kind smile before she left to go to bed appeared in his mind. This could not be happening. He should have checked that the common room was empty last night before going to bed and if it wasn't, to tell the people there what the kiss on the cheek really meant. But he had been so tired, that he didn't care to look. Oh, god, this was not good! And James, how was he going to explain this to his friend?

"But we're not." Remus said weakly.

"I don't know that. You could be lying for all I know, but that is not important right now." Sirius hissed quietly. "What you have to deal with are the rumors and a furious James. It took all I had to convince him to not come running up to the dorms and smother you in your sleep."

"Look, Sirius, it was just a kiss on the cheek. It was completely platonic! Just a kiss from a friend! It meant nothing!" Remus declared as he dug his heels into the ground to pull himself and Sirius to a stop. "Sirius, we are just friends. I told James that before. I don't have any feelings for Lily, except platonic." He looked around to make sure they were alone, but still lowered his voice. "Plus, I'm a werewolf. Werewolves don't date. Doesn't James realize this? I will not date ever."

Sirius frowned at his friend, but decided to let it go for now. "You need to talk to James. I cannot….will not be the peacemaker here!" He gave his friend a determined glare before he grinned. "Oh, and here is your schedule that McGonagall gave me." He handed the parchment to his friend.

"Thanks mate." Remus mumbled as he looked down at the schedule. "Hey, why didn't you guys wake me up for classes?"

Sirius laughed. "Remus, it's Sunday!"

Remus blushed, but still managed to shoot his friend a fierce glare. "Which has never stopped you from waking me up before."

With a snicker, Sirius continued on down the hall with Remus following him like an obedient puppy, which, in retrospect, he kind of was because of the whole werewolf thing. The two walked in silence as Remus contemplated these turn of events. It was only the second day back and he already had James after his head. Curse the Hogwarts rumor train!

"You know, maybe you should go find James and talk to him. The faster you talk to him, the less angry he will be. The longer you wait, the angrier he will become." Sirius commented.

"He is so obsessed!" Remus shouted to no one before he stomped down the stairs with a laughing Sirius following him.

They only made it halfway down the stairs when James and Peter suddenly rounded the corner and were at the bottom of the staircase. The former stopped and was glaring at Remus for a second before he was marching up the stairs, shoulders shaking with anger.

"Now James," Remus said nervously, backing back up the stairs to keep away from James. "Can we please talk about this like civilized people? I mean, I know you are not civilized, but can you try to act like it for a moment?"

Sirius sighed. "Not the time for jokes, Rems."

As Remus reached the top of the stairs, James had by that point reached the middle of them and was grabbed by Sirius, who didn't want to see his friends fighting. After all, it was James and Remus! It just didn't seem right to see those two fighting. If it was him and Remus, he could understand. They did argue a lot because they differed in opinions a lot, but James and Remus fighting? NO! That was completely unthinkable!

"James! Remus is not dating Lily!" Sirius grunted as he tried to pull James back from climbing the stairs and keep himself from tumbling down the stairs by doing this. "It was all a big misunderstanding! Please relax!"

"I want to hear that from him!" James growled, glaring at Remus.

Sighing, Remus descended a few steps. "Okay, James, it was just a platonic kiss on the cheek. It meant nothing. It was just us being friends! It meant nothing, I swear! James, I told you before that I would never do that to you. I can't believe that you will believe every single rumor that you hear. You should know by now that I would never do that to you! I am your friend. Trust me! Don't listen to those stupid rumors!"

"I told him a similar thing." Sirius commented as he continued to struggle with his friend. "James, don't you think this is a bit ridiculous? Remus is your friend, after all. Trust him, for the love of Merlin!"

After a moment, James took a deep breath and relaxed in his friend's grip. He became so limp that Sirius decided he was calm enough and dropped him. So surprised by the move, James didn't have time to gain his balance and went rolling down the stairs before he could shout.

Remus winced as he watched his friend tumbled down the stairs, a grunt escaping his lips when he hit each step. He saw that Sirius also winced at what happened as his friend tumbled down the stairs. Obviously, that was not his plan when he had let go of his friend. It seems that James shouldn't let his guard down for even a moment when he is with Sirius; otherwise he would not make it through Hogwarts alive.

Since Peter was still at the bottom of the stairs, he was the first to get to James when he landed at the bottom of them. He kneeled next to his friend to see if he was alright. A few words were exchanged between them before Peter helped James to his feet. As they were doing that, Remus and Sirius bounded down the stairs to get to them.

"Shit! Are you okay, James? I swear I didn't mean to do that." Sirius said frantically as he ran down the stairs.

"I'm fine." James mumbled as he rubbed his head. "You could have warned me first, prat!"

Remus finally reached the bottom of the stairs as James hit Sirius for making him fall down the stairs. Rolling his eyes, Remus jumped off the last step to land next to Sirius, flashing his bespectacled friend a grin. "Alright, mate? I do hope you are no longer mad. No point in wasting our last day before classes start arguing."

"Fine, fine, Remus. I am sorry. I know you told me last night that you didn't want to date Lily. It's just that when I hear rumors about someone dating her, I don't think straight. As I told you before, I love her so very much." James said, ending in a dreamy voice.

Remus snorted. "James, you do not know what true love is."

His friend shot him a glare, but Remus hardly noticed as he decided staying in the middle of the hall was boring so he decided to walk away. Not liking the fact that he was being ignored, James followed after his friend. "Where are you going?" He demanded.

"It's a nice day outside, don't you think?" Remus asked. "I think I'll go visit Hagrid. It's been a while since I last spoke to him."

"You are so right!" Sirius declared. "How could we forget to visit him? This is all James's fault."

"My fault? How is it my fault?" James demanded.

"Because," Sirius answered simply.

James raised a brow. "That's all you're gonna say?"

The young werewolf whipped around to glare at his friend in annoyance. "Going to, not gonna! Get it right!"

"Still a grammar Nazi, I see." Sirius said idly as he pushed Remus forward. "Come now, Remus. At this rate we won't reach Hagrid's until Christmas!"

"It's his fault." Remus mumbled.

The bespectacled boy threw his arms into the air in disbelief. "Well, apparently everything is my fault today. Peter," The boy mentioned squeaked when James snapped his name. "Do you have something you want to blame me for? If so, speak now, or forever hold your peace!"

"We're not at a wedding." Remus muttered, but everyone ignored him.

"Um….well…." Peter muttered quietly.

"What was tha–"

"Lupin!"

Remus grinned when he saw Ness approaching them while Peter sighed in relief. Ness suddenly appearing had saved him from James's annoyance. His friend didn't get mad often, but when he did, it was scary, even though he wasn't completely mad at this point.

"What's up, Ness?" James asked curiously.

"Well, you know how it is my last year," Ness started.

"Yes, and?" Remus asked curiously.

"I told you I would gladly give you my commentary job for the Quidditch games at school last year. Well, now, I am telling you, not asking, but telling you that you are taking it now." Ness explained.

"But…."

Ness shook his head with a smirk. "Nope. I want to see you do it for school games and since this is my last year, you have to do it this year. No excuses."

While Remus argued a losing battle, James, Sirius, and Peter were laughing and saying this was going to be awesome! Their werewolf mate shot them a very heated glare. He should have known better than to expect help from them. Unless they gained something from it, they were never helpful.

"So, you'll take it? Good!" Ness clapped his hands together once with a grin while Remus was still arguing, though no one was listening to him. "I'll tell Professor McGonagall right away that you accepted it. Thanks Remus! This will be great!"

Remus shouted in frustration when Ness was gone. He turned on his heels and started going back to where he came from. "I thought we were visiting Hagrid!" Peter called after him.

"I'm going back to bed to start this day over." Remus called back to him.

"Aww! Hagrid will be so disappointed though! We haven't seen him in soooo long." James shouted up at him.

After much grumbling, the Marauders finally made it to the front door of Hagrid's cabinet. Sirius had just raised his hand to knock when Hagrid suddenly came strolling around the side of his house with raw meat in his hands.

Peter wrinkled his nose in disgust at the smell. "Ugh! Why do you have that?"

"It is for one of Professor Kettleburn's lessons." Hagrid told him.

"For what year?" James asked hopefully.

Hagrid laughed. "Not for you, that's for sure. Fifth years."

"Damn." James muttered low enough that Hagrid couldn't hear him, but Remus could because of his hypersensitive hearing so he shot his friend a disapproving glare.

"What creature is she going to show them?" Sirius asked curiously. "I do not know what creature enjoys raw meat, except maybe a werewolf." He gave Remus a grin.

"Too dangerous for class, Sirius. And besides, full moon isn't until next week. We werewolves like our meat to be fresh. Right off the bone, even." Remus replied, smirking in satisfaction at his friends' shocked faces.

"They know?" Hagrid asked surprised.

Remus gave his giant friend a sheepish grin. "They found out last year. I just forgot to mention it to you."

A huge grin appeared on Hagrid's face. "I always knew you four were too close to let something like this hurt your friendship."

"See?" Sirius shouted, glaring at Remus. "Even Hagrid knew that! Why couldn't you see it?"

Remus rolled his eyes at Hagrid. "They are going to hold it against me for forever for not telling them about my condition on my own." He told Hagrid, who chuckled.

"Damn right we are!" James and Sirius declared.

"We're going to hold this over your head forever." Peter added.

"I can't believe you were afraid to tell us." James grumbled before suddenly perking up once more as he looked at the raw meat in Hagrid's hands. "So, what creature, Hagrid?"

"Thestrals." Hagrid replied.

James's brows drew together n confusion. "Thestrals? I've heard of those before. Where did I hear of them from?" He asked, confused as to why he knew the name.

"Angel told us about them last year, remember? They drive the school carriages." Remus told him with a frown. "They can only be seen by those who have seen death."

"Oh yeah." James replied. "I had forgotten that."

"Lucky you." Remus mumbled, before grinning at Hagrid to get passed the awkward moment. "So, Hagrid, how was your summer?"

Hagrid smiled at the teenager. "It was fine. But I am curious. What did the four Marauders get up to during the summer? It must have been interesting. I fear the teachers fear your return. I wonder if they give you so much homework during the summer to keep you busy so you don't have time to plan new pranks."

James laughed. "Then they have failed, Hagrid. We got a whole slew of ideas. It's too bad we forgot about our beginning of the school year prank though. It never got done because we forgot, but we will make it up soon."

"Those poor teachers." Hagrid chuckled. "They were wondering why nothing happened during the feast."

"They deserve everything coming to them!" Sirius declared fervently. "How dare they give us homework during the summer? I will make them pay!"

James snickered. "So dramatic. Do you ever stop?"

The Black heir looked at him blandly as he pointed at Remus. "Sure, when he decides to be the dramatic one."

Rolling his eyes, James hit Sirius's shoulder. "That's your fault. You two spend too much time together so he learned to be dramatic from you. Our poor, little and innocent Remus. He used to be sooo good, then he became your friend. You have poisoned our innocent Remus! You fiend!"

"You are all dramatic!" Peter declared. "It's not just them, but you too, James!"

"Hahaha." James muttered sarcastically. But he was suddenly distracted by the Forbidden Forest nearby. He looked into the dark trees with a frown for a moment before looking at Sirius with the same frown. They locked eyes and both smirked.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"No!" Remus snapped.

"Oh, come on, Remus. We keep saying that we were going to go in it, and yet, we still haven't." Sirius said.

"It is forbidden for a reason." Remus retorted stubbornly.

"We said we would go in it last year, but somehow, we forgot." Sirius whined. "Come on, mate. Don't be such a baby."

Remus glared at him.

"But he can't help it." James butted in with a mischievous grin. "He is just a werewolf baby. He is only just now approaching puberty."

Sirius nodded seriously. "Good point. I had forgotten that our little Remus is still only a baby that will be reaching puberty soon." His shoulders shook so he rested his face in James's shoulder to hide his laugh. "They grow up so fast!" He said dramatically as if a proud mother.

Spluttering, Remus attempted to glare at his friends, but was so shocked by the statement that he couldn't muster up one of his fiercest glares. So, instead, he stubbornly crossed his arms and looked out the dorm window.

"I have a feeling that because of our visit with Hagrid, we have a lot of werewolf jokes coming up." Peter told him, causing Remus to groan. It was all his fault then because he was being sarcastic with Sirius about his curse. "But I agree with Remus. I don't think we should go into the forest."

James and Sirius shared exasperated looks. "Come on, you two." Sirius said. "Are you Marauders or not?"

"Not!" Remus declared with a smirk.

"Yeah." Peter said dully at the same time as Remus spoke.

"Remus, shut up." James said before turning to Peter. "Marauders aren't afraid of anything and they always break rules. We are going into the forest when we get a chance, all of us." He shot the last part at Remus, who rolled his eyes.

"First he's trying to kill me and now he is trying to order me around. He's like a girl with his mood swings." Remus quipped.

"What?" James shouted. With a new fire of life in him, he launched himself off his bed, making Sirius shout in surprise and fall over since his head was still resting on James's shoulder, and at the pale boy in front of the window. Calling a boy a girl was a massive insult, so great that no one was allowed to get away with it, not even a friend.

James barreled into Remus, sending them both to the ground. A shout of surprise escaped Remus's lips as they fell to the ground. As they were falling, Remus was briefly, very briefly, aware of pain firing up in his cheek. But it all happened so fast that he barely registered that fact. For all he knew, the pain was just his imagination.

In fact, all he did register completely was James charging at him, and then finding himself on the ground with James on top of him. His cheek hurt and he could feel a sticky substance rolling down his face. He blinked, confused as to what happened, as he stared into the worried and apologetic eyes of his best friend.

"Damn, I'm sorry, Remus. I wasn't expecting you to hit your nightstand when we fell. Are you okay?" James asked.

Remus pushed James off him. One hand went up to his cheek as he pushed himself up with his other hand. When he touched his cheek, he immediately felt the familiar warm, sticky substance that he knew was blood, even without seeing it.

"Should we go to the Hospital Wing?" Peter asked, pale with fright as he saw how much blood was running down his friend's face.

"No. It probably looks worse than it is." Remus snapped. He saw Peter flinch at his tone, but felt that he didn't care. He was getting sick of everyone always worrying needlessly over him. He was not fragile! The full moon was the only time when he actually needed help.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sirius emerge from the bathroom with a rag. He briefly wondered when Sirius went in there before he was having a wet wash cloth chucked at him by his friend.

"Clean yourself up." Sirius said as he collapsed onto his bed. "We don't want a Prefect coming in here to inquire about the noise, only to see a bleeding Remus. He'd think we are bullies."

"Inquire?" Remus asked snidely. "Looks like Sirius finally learned some new words."

"Shut it, you prat." Sirius snapped.

With a smirk, Remus washed the blood off his face before pressing the rag into his cut. The warm water seeped into his cut, making it sting, but Remus barely noticed the sting. That small sting was nothing compared to transforming into a werewolf once a month. It didn't take long for the wash cloth to turn red from all the blood that it had soaked up.

"Are you sure it will stop bleeding?" James asked.

"It will probably need a bandage." Remus replied. "But it will be fine. Take it from someone who knows all about injuries."

Peter left the room, calling over his shoulder as he went that he would get Remus a bandage from Madam Pomfrey. When he was gone Sirius rolled his eyes. He knew that Peter really volunteered because he didn't want to see all the blood anymore.

"Have we been back for one day or for one month?" Sirius asked to no one in particular as he stared at the canopy of his bed. "I mean, Remus is now making a move on Lily supposedly, James has already tried to maul Remus, James already fell down the stairs, Remus has been made commenter for the Quidditch games, we saw Hagrid, and he is already injured. Seems like we have been here for a while already."

"It's all James's fault." Remus said.

"Oi!" James shouted. "We're back to this, are we?"

Remus grinned at him. "Well, it is. Do you see this cut?" He pulled the wash cloth from his cheek to show his bleeding cheek which he ran a thumb over. "This, this is your fault."

"It was an accident." James huffed while Sirius and Remus shared amused looks.

**A/N: Please Review! **


	9. Chapter 9: Who Shall Die?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. **

**Thanks for reviewing!**

**The Marauders Year 3**

**Chapter 9: Who Shall Die?**

"Whose–brilliant–Idea–was–It–to–take–bloody–Divination?" Sirius panted, glaring at his three friends, as if daring one of them to speak up and admit that it was their idea. His glare promised severe punishment to them the moment they spoke though.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Sirius, you're on the Quidditch team. Surely you can handle a few stairs."

Sirius snarled at him, but it didn't have his usual fire as he was tired from all the steps he had climbed. "Do you know how many damn stairs we have climbed?" He waited a moment as if waiting for a reply from him. When nothing came, he continued, like Remus knew he wanted to. "Too many to count!"

"Again with the dramatics." James huffed out.

At the very top of the tower, Sirius collapsed onto his stomach. His eyes slid shut as a pleasant smile came over his lips. No more of those evil steps. His legs could finally rest after such a hard and tiring walk.

"Get up, Sirius. We're not to the class yet." James said; an evil grin spread over his lips as his friend groaned at his words.

"What now?" Sirius whined. "I already climbed the bloody steps. What more do they want from me?"

"To climb a ladder." Peter answered.

A groan escaped Sirius's lips. "Stupid, evil school. There has to be an easier way to get here."

"Up you get, you lazy prat." James ordered, taking his friend by the arm and dragging him to his feet. He glared at Remus and Peter as they climbed the ladder. They just left him to deal with Sirius on his own! It seemed that Sirius was not the only one being a prat today!

Collapsing into the chairs of the table next to Remus and Peter, James shot them a nasty glare as they chuckled at his red face and disheveled appearance. Sirius sat next to James, appearing more chipper after arriving to the class, which annoyed the now cranky James.

As they waited for the teacher to arrive, Remus took in the room. It was a circular room. The floor was covered in a weird rug, weird because of its strange design. It sort of reminded him of the town he lived in when he was living in France, though more abstract. As he looked at it, he thought he saw the design moving and changing. A little freaked and surprised at this, Remus adverted his eyes. The room was filled with tables covered in white table cloths that sat on the steadying rising platforms that reminded him of stairs, though wider as there were tables on them. Each table had three big and comfy chairs around them. At the front of the room sat another chair and table by itself in front of the fireplace, which held a blazing fire in it. The fire was making the room agonizing hot. How could the professor stand this heat? Remus felt like he was going to sweat out of his skin at this rate.

As the Marauders chose tables in the middle row, Remus could see out the nearby window. As such, he looked out at the lake, imagining himself jumping into it to cool off. It would feel so nice after this smoldering hot room.

Just because he was daydreaming, though, didn't mean that he forgot where he was. He was still aware of the class, so he still used his senses, particularly his sense of smell, to know what was going on around him.

So when a sudden strong, perfume smell wrapped around him, his first instinct was to gag. The smell was horrible, but what made it absolutely disgusting was how strong the smell was. It was like someone had dumped a whole bottle of perfume on themselves.

"What do you see?" A mystical voice asked in his ear.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Remus saw Peter and other students around jump in surprise. They had all been dozing or not paying attention to their surroundings so the voice had scared them awake.

Without a trace of surprise, Remus turned in his seat to see his professor standing behind him. Just once glance at her was all Remus needed to immediately think she looked like a gypsy, a ghost gypsy, he might add.

As he never saw her around the school before he assumed that she never left her tower which would explain why she was as pale as a ghost. Her dark blue dress looked like something he would see a gypsy wear. It was so long that it swept across the ground when she walked. Wrapped around her upper arms and shoulders was a pale blue shawl that sparkled with white and silver gems. Her dark brown hair, which almost looked black, was wavy and reached to the center of her back. A few strands here and there were braided with beads in them. A dark brown scarf was wrapped around her forehead, tied under her hair. Distant and wistful green eyes were searching the gold ones of Remus when he turned to look at her.

"I do not know what you mean." Remus replied.

"Your aura is pulsing." She replied, taking a pale, scar hand in her hands. "The beyond is near you. You are moving to it. You are seeing something."

"Uh….." Remus said unintelligently. He noticed Sirius and James snickering at him and scowled.

"Your aura feels so much different than the others." She continued as she looked at the small hand in hers that she was rubbing gently with her thumbs as she spoke.

"Professor, maybe we should start class?" Peter stated nervously. Not only did he notice Remus squirming uncomfortably, but he, and James and Sirius he realized, had tensed at the teacher's last sentence. It was probably not what she meant, but when she mentioned different aura, he thought she was referring to his lycanthropy.

The teacher seemed surprised at his voice, as if she had forgotten about the class when she saw Remus staring out the window. "Of course." She replied in that same mystical, dreamy voice as earlier. Remus shot his friend a grateful smile as the professor walked back to the front of the class.

James leaned towards Remus and Peter's table. "She is crazy." He whispered.

Remus couldn't help but agree after that strange scene.

"Students," The Professor called to get the class's attention. "I am Professor Amaran. I am here to teach you all about predicting the future that is the noble art of Divination, the most difficult form of all magical arts. And maybe a few of you will have the gift to see into the beyond!" Her last word was shouted dramatically, startling Peter out of the doze he was about to fall into once more.

"She means Remus." Sirius said loud enough for the werewolf to hear. Remus shot him a glare at his words as he and James fell into snickers once more.

"We shall begin our studies of Divination with reading tea leaves this term. Next term we will study palmistry." Amaran said as she walked across to the front of the room. She stopped in front of A.J., a Ravenclaw. "You, boy, watch your little sister closely. She will need you greatly soon."

A.J. looked at his professor worriedly while the others looked on in fascination. What could that mean? Did Amaran really see something?

Amaran continued on as if she didn't interrupt her own speech. "Second term will be devoted to the crystal ball. Unfortunately in November, one of our numbers will become severely unrecognizable. And all classes will be disrupted in January by a most terrible event that I dare not speak of."

"Miss. Evans," Amaran said after a moment of shocked, curious silence. "Could you please get me that silver tea pot? And the rest of you get a cup. When you get your cup, come to me so I may fill your cups, then go to your seat and drink it until only the dregs remain. Swill these in the cup three times with the left hand, then turn the cup upside down on the saucer, wait for the rest of the tea to drain away, then give your cup to your partner to read. You will interpret the patterns using pages five and six in Unfogging the Future. I shall move among you to help you. " She looked up at Peter. "And when you break a blue one, please take a pink one. I am quite fond of the blue ones."

Not even two minutes later, Peter had dropped a blue cup that smashed into a hundred pieces on the floor. The Gryffindor jumped back in shock and to avoid getting hit with the glass. He quickly grabbed a pink one and went to his seat as the other students snickered, while a few looked on in amazement at the teacher's prediction coming true.

Remus rolled his eyes as he listened to Karen and Mali talk about Divination as he drank his scorching hot tea. They both sounded so convinced by all this mumble jumble. He, personally, thought that this was stupid, and he had only been in the class for about ten minutes!

"Blegh!" Sirius hissed. "This tea is horrible. How can you drink this crap, Remus?"

Remus looked up from swilling cup with a smirk at his friends. "A lot of practice, Sirius. This is nothing compared to the potions that Madam Pomfrey and Mrs. Potter force down my throat every month. Try having to drink those every month, then come back to this tea. You will relish in its taste then."

"I very much doubt that." Sirius sniffed. "At least those potions don't set your throat on fire!"

Remus snorted as he turned his cup over onto his saucer. "Sirius, it is not fun having multiple potions shoved down your throat for at least three days."

"Whatever you say, mate." Sirius replied, though didn't really seem to be paying attention to the conversation at this point, so Remus just rolled his eyes and took Peter's cup since he was finished.

"What do you see?" Peter asked.

Remus turned the cup every which way as he looked at the mushy tea leaves. "Well, it is possible that this is a….uh….well, what….how am I supposed to know? All I see are tea leaves! Who actually cares about this? Tea leaves can't predict the future!"

"That you know of." James replied with a laugh. "For all we know, Peter's cup could have a great fortune in it, but you just refuse to see it so we won't know his great fortune until it happens."

The werewolf rolled his eyes. "Well, it seems, Peter, that James think you have a great fortune ahead of you. I expect you to be ready for it now that the future has been told by the Almighty James Potter!"

The Marauders laughed loudly, causing a few students to stare at them in confusion and Lily to glare up at them. "I can deal with that." Peter said with a grin. He reached across the table and took Remus's cup. "So, let's see, what does Remus's future hold for him?"

"What does my future hold, Jamesy?" Sirius asked with a grin. "Money? Girls? Getting away from my parents? Please tell me, oh great one!"

Remus rolled his eyes with a smile at his friend's antics.

"Well, that there looks like a club," James looked through the pages of his book quickly. "Which means an attack. And that there could be a….uh…possibly a flower."

"A flower?" Sirius muttered in disbelief.

"Here, my dear."

Sirius and James about jumped out of their skin when they heard the mystical voice of their teacher. Somehow, she had managed to sneak up on them. It was like she walked like a cat with how silent she was.

Amaran took Sirius's cup from James and looked into it, turning it this way and that way as she tried to determine what she was seeing. All the students stopped what they were doing to watch her. Remus looked at her with a frown, just daring her to say something horrible.

"Ah," Amaran shouted after a few moments of examining it. She quickly put the cup down as if burned by it, looking even paler than she did before. She gave Sirius a look of pity mixed with her fear and spiritual essence, making it a very strange look in Remus's eyes.

"What is it?" Mali asked worriedly.

"Oh, you poor boy." Amaran said. She swept down the stairs to her chair in front of the fire where she collapsed into it as if with a heavy weight on her shoulders. "It is horrible!"

Remus rolled his eyes. He leaned over to James and whispered in his ear, "Laying the theatricals on quite heavily, isn't she? If Divination doesn't work out for her, she could be an actress."

James covered his mouth to keep from laughing loudly, but he couldn't help the few snickers that escaped.

"What is it?" Peter asked.

Amaran looked up from her fire at her students with a dreadful expression. "My dear boy…." She paused for dramatic effect, causing James and Remus to share a look and chuckle again. "You have the Grim!"

Most of the students looked confused at this. Sirius looked to the other Marauders for help, but found them completely unhelpful. Remus was rolling his eyes and frowning at all this as if he thought it was stupid. Peter was looking at him worriedly. And James was still snickering about who knows what!

"What is the Grim?" Lily asked curiously, and as always, with a thirst for knowledge.

"It is a big, actually huge, black dog. When you see it, it means your life is over. The dog prowls our world, waiting for people to spot it. When they see it, they will soon die. Then the dog takes their spirit from this world. He drags you from this world, away from everyone you know and love or hate. You will never see them again. Even their soul will never be seen or felt again. They are gone forever, stuck with the Grim in his own little torture world for eternally." Remus explained in a creepy, haunting voice. "Or that is the story at least." He said in his normal voice after a dramatic pause where he got worried/scared looks from the other students. "In truth, all that is really known is that the Grim is the darkest omen of our world. It is the omen of death."

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"Damn it, Remus." Peter growled, looking extremely pale as they left their class and headed to Transfiguration. "You and your stupid stories."

"Yes, thank you, Remus, for telling me I am a goner." Sirius growled, trying to punch Remus in the shoulder, but the smaller boy just stepped to the side to avoid it.

"Oh, stop being a pansy. Have you ever seen a great black dog anywhere?" Remus asked.

"No."

"Then you're fine. Personally, I think the whole Grim thing is stupid. You're not going to die because you see a dog." Remus said. There could always be worse things in the world. After seeing a werewolf and getting bitten by it, it was like he had nothing more to be afraid of. He couldn't even truly fear being abandoned because by this point he expected it. He was only truly surprised when someone found out and didn't leave him alone, like his friends did.

"Well, it is obvious that someone hates Divination." James said with a grin.

"I don't _'hate' _it." Remus said, stressing the word hate.

James snorted. "Mate, you were making fun of the whole thing. You weren't taking any of it seriously."

"Yeah, when do we ever see Remus acting like that in class?" Sirius asked with an amused smirk.

"What I don't get is how it is false when she knew about my cup." Peter said confused, stepping to the side to let an older student pass by.

Snorting, Remus rolled his eyes for possibly the one hundredth time today. "It was a self-fulfilling prophecy. You were told something would happen, you were worried about it, so it happened. It is as simple as that. An easy play to make actually."

"What are you going on about?" Sirius asked confused.

"Quite simple, Amaran watched the class and chose the most nervous student she found, which in this case was Peter. She told him he would break a cup, making him even more nervous which would make it happen. It was a rather manipulative move on her part." Remus said with a frown.

Sirius raised a brow, looking at the worried Peter, then back to Remus. "How could you possible see that?"

"Only you would look that deeply into it, Remus." Peter said with an wry smile.

"Hear, hear!" James and Sirius said in agreement.

"If you do not want my input anymore, fine!" Remus said before stalking away to McGonagall's classroom with shaking shoulders. Laughing, the three other Marauders ran to catch up with their chuckling friend as he reached the classroom door.

As the Marauders sat in Transfiguration, Sirius noticed that most of the faces were grim. He was wondering why that was until he remembered their Divination class. It seemed the other students were still grim about their last class, which made sense as they didn't have Remus there to give them a pep talk about the Grim being stupid.

"Sirius, look at the board." James whispered suddenly in his ear.

Looking up, one word written in white chalk on the blackboard shined out brightly to Sirius. Written there was the word 'Animagus'. Below it were some basic notes on them. "Do you think we'll learn anything helpful?" He asked James quietly.

"We'll find out soon enough." James replied.

"Can anyone tell me what an Animagus is?" Professor McGonagall asked once she finished role call and began class.

Five hands shot into the air as once. To nobody's surprise, two of the hands belonged to Remus and Lily. It was the other three that snapped everyone out of their dazes. James, Sirius, and Peter had all freely and willingly raised their hands to answer a question! They never wanted to answer questions, even if they knew the answer. They preferred fooling around in class. If they wanted to answer a question, it must have meant that the end was coming!

McGonagall, herself, looked shocked at this new development. After a moment of shocked silence, she called, "Mr. Black?"

"An Animagus is a wizard or witch the can change into a specific animal of their own free will. The skill has to be learned. It is a very difficult process to become one." Sirius started.

"The wizard can't choose his animal form either. Their animal form is chosen by their personality and inner traits. Each Animagus bears a mark on their animal form that is caused by something on their human body. An example will be glasses, like yours. When you transform into a cat, there are circles around your eyes that are like your glasses." James added, truly impressing McGonagall when he added an example.

"A wand isn't needed for the Animagus transformation, which is how it differs from Transfiguration. Transfiguration uses spells, while Animagus is an ability. The Animagus retains his human mind while he is an animal." Peter said.

Remus turned in his seat to stare at his friends in shock. They have never discussed Animagus so he had no idea of how they could know about that subject because he was certain that they would not spend their time studying something that they hadn't gone over in class yet.

"That is correct." McGonagall said, giving three of the four Marauders a rare smile at their rare share of knowledge. "Ten points to each of you."

James, Sirius, and Peter all grinned, not noticing or ignoring the shocked look that Remus was giving them. Honestly, it was like he thought they were idiots. The Potter heir could not see how he thought that. They all worked on their masterful pranks together. To do that, they all needed to be smart as they sometimes did spells more advanced than they could handle sometimes.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"Sooo, why do you think I was chosen to be the one with the Grim?" Sirius asked as the Marauders walked to lunch.

"Are you still on about that stupid Grim?" Remus asked exasperated, throwing his hands into the air.

"I'm just curious as to why Amaran chose me as the one to receive the Grim in class is all." Sirius huffed, crossing his arms in annoyance.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Do you expect me to have the answers to everything?"

"Yes!" Sirius, and to Remus's surprise, James and Peter shouted.

Peter frowned. "I think it is a really valued question. After all, I think it would make more sense to tell Remus that he has the Grim and will be dying. He is the one who gets the most injured out of all the students."

"With his furry little problem, that makes sense, but we must take into the fact that Professor Amaran might not know about it and that Remus has a strong aura in that class according to her. She wouldn't want to predict Remus's death after that." James pointed out as he began to fill his plate with food.

'"Furry little problem?" Remus growled, glass of orange juice halfway to his mouth. "Don't call it that."

Sirius rolled his eyes at his friend. "Too late. That is now its name. We voted on it, remember?"

"I don't like it. What if someone hears it?" Remus asked, stabbing some broccoli with a fork.

"That's the point. None of them will understand it which allows us to talk about it freely so stop worrying so much, Remus." James explained, though was distracted with watching Remus maul his food. "And stop stabbing the poor broccoli. It never did anything to you, except keep your body healthy which is not a bad thing."

"Uh-huh, uh-huh," Remus muttered, seemingly not paying a whole lot of attention to his friend's idiotic mind. "James, do us all a favor, okay?"

James smiled. "Sure, what'cha need?"

"Shut up."

**A/N: Please Review! **

Year 3 Schedule:

**Monday, Wednesday, Friday:**

**History of Magic (Double on Friday, with Slytherins)**

**Herbology (Double on Wednesday, with Hufflepuffs)**

**Lunch**

**Care of Magical Creatures (Double on Monday, with Ravenclaws)**

**Muggle Studies (Double on Wednesday, with Hufflepuffs, only James, Sirius, and Peter)/Ancient Runes (Double on Friday, with Ravenclaws, only Remus, Lily)**

**Astronomy (On Friday, with Hufflepuffs)**

**Tuesday, Thursday:**

**Charms (Double on Thursday, with Hufflepuffs)**

**Divination (Double on Tuesday, with Ravenclaws)**

**Transfiguration (Double on Tuesday, with Ravenclaws)**

**Lunch**

**Defense Against the Dark Arts (Double on Thursday, with Slytherins)**

**Potions (Double on Tuesday, with Slytherins)**

**Free Period**


	10. Chapter 10: The New Defense Teacher

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. **

**A/N: Sorry for the wait for this chapter! I started to write a new story call The Secrets of Friends. It is a lot of fun to write so it distracted me from this chapter. **

**Argh, I'm so upset. I went and deleted all my stories on my old account without thinking. I lost all those wonderful reviews I got for them. This sucks big time. **

**Anyway, I was thinking of rewriting the first few chapters of The Marauders Year 1, which I moved to this account. I am not satisfied with them. If I ever get to that, I will inform you people so you can check out the revised versions. **

**Thanks for reviewing!**

**The Marauders Year 3**

**Chapter 10: The New Defense Teacher**

"Hey, who is our Defense teacher this year?" Sirius asked as the boys walked towards Defense.

The young werewolf rolled his eyes, sending his friend a scowl. "Don't you listen at all? He was introduced during the beginning-of-term feast."

A dramatic gasp came from Sirius, who took a step away from Remus as if in horror. "Remus, how could you even say that? Me listen to a Professor? The idea of doing so is…is….is so horrendous! My reputation as a troublemaker would be ruined if people heard that I actually listened to a professor! Oh, Remus! How could you!"

Staring blankly at Sirius, Remus paused in walking for a moment. No sound came from him. His eyes just rested on the slightly older boy with no real emotion shining in them. James, Sirius, and Peter stared back at him, waiting for him to respond to Sirius's craziness. After a moment of blank staring, Remus turned his eyes forward and continued walking, though he could be heard mumbling under his breathe, "Surprise you even know the word horrendous." He figured if he didn't reply to Sirius then maybe he would forget all about Sirius and his insanity. He swore that his friend was becoming more and more insane with each passing day.

Instead of getting silence like he wanted, but knew he wouldn't get, Remus heard a drastic gasp from Sirius which was soon followed by loud footsteps coming after him. It didn't surprise him. Nothing did anymore. All the reactions he would receive from his friends were easily calculated beforehand. Being friend with them for two years has made them predictable, too predictable. That actually made it quite boring sometimes. Sometimes being able to predict their moves was good, especially if they were about to do something incredibly stupid, but most of the time, it was boring.

"His name is Professor Jaclyn Nazik." Remus explained with a dark frown, all teasing gone from his form.

Immediately noticing the change in demeanor, James bounded forward to grab his friend's shoulder. "Is something up, mate? You don't sound happy about him being our new professor. In fact, if I had to say, you sound downright scared, which is not like you at all. Remus John Lupin does not get scared!"

"Nazik was a dark creature hunter before. He retired a few years ago after he was nearly killed by a werewolf. Somehow he wasn't bitten. If he was, he would have surely killed himself as he hates dark creatures. It would be downright hell for him if he became one." Remus told his friends, shivering slightly at the thought of the hunter. He may have retired, but that didn't mean his hatred for dark creatures wasn't still there. And if Professor Dumbledore told him about Remus, then this was going to be the worst year ever.

"You don't think that Nazik will try to get the students to figure out about Remus, do you?" Peter asked worriedly.

Sirius and James shared an uneasy look, while Remus stiffened in fear. He never thought about that. The only thing going through his mind was how Nazik would treat him if Dumbledore did tell him about him.

"Why do you ask the bad questions, Pettigrew?" Sirius growled, causing Remus to shoot him a glare when Peter coward back a bit.

"Don't be mean. It is a perfectly good question." Remus snapped, though, on the inside, he was a nervous wreck and felt a wee-bit betrayed. How the hell could Dumbledore possibly hire an ex-dark creature hunter when he _knew _about Remus's condition? He knew Dumbledore was no idiot. He _knew_ how dark creatures hunters were, even if they were formers ones. They still have all the training ingrained in them. Just because they have retired from the job, does not mean that they lose all their skills.

Sirius shrugged, but didn't reply. None of them did as they reached the Defense classroom.

"Who fancy going in first?" Sirius asked, looking back at his friends with an easy grin that wasn't really easy. He was actually hoping that Remus was wrong about their new teacher.

"Since you reached it first," James started with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He suddenly shoved his best friend through the door. "You go first!"

The classroom was completely void of life when the boys entered. They were the first ones to the class. Not even their new professor was present. This was lucky for them as they could observe the classroom of their teacher. They could always tell how a professor was because of the classroom.

And this classroom clearly spoke dark creature hunter! It was a dark and dreary classroom with tools that one would probably use to capture dark creatures lining the walls. The curtains were all pulled shut so one could not see out the windows. On the black board which was behind the desk, which was filled with a few silver instruments that caused Remus to twitch even though he knew silver had no effect on him, were the words Dark Creatures in big, scrawling handwriting. In the back of the classroom was a spiral staircase that led to a wooden door at the top that would most likely be Nazik's office. On the walls were a few pictures of Dark Creatures. Some of them housed vampires sucking blood from someone, a werewolf howling at the moon, hags, Acromantulas, manticores, and the gruesome transformation of a werewolf. That one was the least favorite for the Marauders. Remus hated it because it reminded him of the pain and hell he has to go through each month. The other three hated it because they didn't like having to see what their best friend went through each month, but it did help in their determination becoming stronger to be Animagi.

"Argh, this place is just like that dreaded place I am forced to go to during the holidays." Sirius said in disgust, glaring all around the room. "Are you sure he is an ex-dark creature hunter? This seems more like a room for a Dark Magic lover."

"Until you look at those pictures," Peter mumbled, staring at the picture of a werewolf transforming in horror.

Remus followed Peter's eyes to that picture with a dark frown. His friends had never seen his transformation before. They hadn't even ever seen him directly after a full moon. They only ever saw him bandaged up in the Hospital Wing after it. The true horrors were never seen by them. All they knew was theory. They didn't know the true terrors of being a werewolf. How could they? There was no practical for learning lycanthropy. The only practical lesson would be to meet a werewolf on a full moon, and that would not be very wise for a few thirteen year olds.

In an even more despairing mood than when he walked into the classroom, Remus marched over to a desk in the back of the classroom, sat down, and buried his face in his arms. How could this day get any worse? An ex-Dark Creature hunter for a new Defense teacher and now his friends were learning the true horror of being a werewolf. He wouldn't be surprised if they suddenly became so revolted by him that they dropped him as a friend before this class was even over.

Scowling, James hit Peter in the back of the head. "Learn some subtlety. He saw the damn horror in your eyes."

"Yes, horror, not fear." Peter hissed to him quietly. "I knew it was terrible from what we read in those books, but I didn't think it'd be like that. I could never go through that. Remus must be really strong."

"And brave." Sirius added barely above a whisper as more students started arriving to the class. "Come on, let's sit down already."

The bespectacled blacked haired boy of the group sat down next to their depressed friend while Sirius and Peter sat in front of them. He poked Remus's arm a few times while muttering, "Remus, mate, don't look so down. None of us are disgusted by their pictures. You're still our besty mate in the whole wide world."

A snort came from the boy. "'Besty' isn't a word, Potter."

"Since when is it Potter, Lupin?" James asked wistfully with a mischievous tinkle in his eyes.

"Since when is it Lupin?" Remus retorted as he turned his head to the side in his arms so he could look up at his friend who was looking down at him.

"Since you started it," James countered.

"So everything is my fault, is it?" Remus responded with a tiny smile.

James nodded. "Yep, every single mistake is the fault of Remus John Lupin!"

"I think you're mistaken, Potter." Sirius interrupted the two with a grin. "If I may, I believe…."

"Enough chitchat!" A sour voice cut across the classroom.

An immediate silence fell over the class. They all turned forward as Professor Nazik strode down the spiral stairs from his office. The sharp cutting voice of his and the fact that he was emitting an almost dark aura caused the students to sit up straighter. It wasn't evil. The dark aura felt more mean and unhappy as if he no longer cared and had a long, difficult life. That most likely came from his years as a Dark Creature hunter. It would be a miracle if he trusted and liked anyone.

"We will begin with roll call. Avery, Ruther."

"Here, sir." One of the Slytherins on the other side of the room called.

"Black, Sirius."

"Present." Sirius announced before turning his head slightly to his friends to whisper, "If he knows about Remus, we might get a slight reaction. Watch for it. I want to know if Dumbly told him or not."

James snorted. "Dumbly?"

"Carrow, Alecto."

"I think it fits." Sirius retorted.

James shrugged. "Whatever you say, mate."

The Slytherin girl lazily raised a hand before turning back to her friend, Rose.

"Cowell, Julie."

James turned to Remus. He pointed a thumb at Sirius's back and mouthed, 'Insane, that one."

In front of Carrow, another Slytherin girl raised her hand.

"Danas, Karen."

"Here, sir."

"Evans, Lily."

"You're one to talk." Remus retorted, lips twitching up in a grin. "In case you haven't realized, James Potter, you are pining after a girl who hates your guts….."

"Present, Professor." Lily replied before turning her ear back to her friends, Mary, Mali, Karen, and Marlene.

"Jonan, Mali."

"Insist she'll love you one day and kept the first love letter you wrote for it and said it is only the first rejection."

"Present."

Remus adopted a love-sick expression and mocked James's voice, "She'll come around one day."

James scowled at him, but didn't reply as Nazik interrupted them again.

"Lupin, Remus."

Hearing his name, Remus looked away from his friends to meet the steely glare of his new professor. "I am here, Professor."

There was a flash of disgust in Nazik's eyes that disappeared so quickly most people would have missed it. "So you are." He sneered before going to the next name. "Macdonald, Mary."

"Here, Professor!" The Gryffindor girl called.

"He knows. He definitely knows." Remus hissed to his friends.

"McKinnon, Marlene."

"This is not good. You don't think he'll do anything, do you?" Peter asked worriedly.

"Yes, Professor." The Gryffindor girl said quickly before dropping her voice back to her conversation with her friends.

"Do what?" Sirius hissed at him. He spun in his seat to face Remus and James. "Do what?" He repeated stubbornly. "He won't do a damn thing, not right under Dumbledore's nose."

"Mulciber, Macon."

"That's the only comfort." Peter grumbled.

Mulciber raised his hand as he said, "Here."

No one noticed as Remus scowled at Dumbledore's name. He doubted Dumbledore would help him with the Professor. He was, after all, the one to hire the ex-Dark Creature as the Defense teacher when he knew he had a Dark Creature as a pupil, and then, to make matters worse, he went and TOLD Nazik about him. That made the betrayal all the more worse. There was no way he could trust Dumbledore to help him now. Who the hell could he trust?

"Nott, Rose."

"Here." A Slytherin girl called.

"Pettigrew, Peter."

"Here, sir."

"Potter, James."

James lazily raised a hand. "Present."

"Rosier, Evan."

"Here."

"Runcorn, Nellie."

"Here, Professor." The Slytherin girl next to Cowell said.

"Snape, Severus."

"Present, sir."

"Wilkes, Alvin."

The Slytherin boy lazily raised his hand.

"Welcome to third year Defense Against the Dark Arts class," Nazik began as he walked around his desk, stopping briefly to drop the attendance sheet. "This year will be focusing on all the Dark Creatures out there that are a threat to the way we live." His dark eyes scanned over the class, but they rested on Remus longer than the others. "Before we begin, can anyone name a known Dark Creature?"

A few students raised their hands, but Remus determinedly kept his eyes on his desk. Defense was one of his favorite classes, but now it was just going to be ruined!

"Ms. Evans."

"Vampires, sir." Lily said.

"Good, any others?" Nazik asked in a sickening tone that made Remus want to curl up in a hole and die. He knew what his professor was trying to get at. "Mr. Rosier."

"Boggarts, sir."

"Excellent. How about another one? Let's say this time, Mr. Snape."

"There are hags, sir."

Nazik nodded and his eyes scanned over the students. "Another one," And stopped cruelly on Remus, who was still focusing on his desk. "Mr. Lupin?"

Remus bit his lip so hard he could taste the blood in his mouth. That man wanted him to say it. It would be as good as a confession to him. This was all to scare him. Well, he was messing with the wrong Gryffindor. He would not lose to this man.

Remus sat up straight in his seat and glared coolly at his teacher. If it was a war he wanted, it was a war he was going to get. "Werewolves are fascinating Dark Creatures, sir." He said coldly, shocking his classmates. It was just not like him to be like this, especially to a teacher!

"There is nothing fascinating about them, Mr. Lupin. They are dangerous beasts that will kill you or turn you into a _monster_ just like them." Nazik replied just as coldly.

"That, sir, is a matter of opinion." Remus argued, eyes flashing dangerously. "You could say they are monsters, but that is only on the full moon. It is only on the full moon that they change into a wolf. Any other day, they are just like a human."

_Liar_, a traitorous voice in Remus's head said. Everything he said was a lie to him. He always felt like a monster, something dangerous, but at the moment, he just didn't care. All he wanted was to drag this man down and win this war. He would take any means necessary to win.

Nazik eyes flashed dangerously as they gazed at Remus. "Five points from Gryffindor for you cheek."

Remus's hands curled into fists on his desk. A few of the Slytherins snickered, but he paid them no heed.

"And do not talk about things you do not understand," Nazik added dangerously as he approached Remus and James's desk. His hands slammed down in front of Remus. A cruel smirk adorned his face. "Werewolves, Mr. Lupin, are Dark Creatures for a reason. They will always be monsters, whether it is a full moon or not. The beast always lives within them. They will always be lusting after blood and seeing all humans as prey. They wish to kill or bite others to make them join with him. Werewolves can never be trusted. They are _beasts_ that deserve to be _slaughtered_."

Remus continued to gaze coldly at his teacher. He didn't move a muscle. It was like the words had no effect on him. But his friends were suddenly glaring at the teacher, but no one, not even Nazik noticed them. They were all too focused on Remus, waiting for his next move.

"Those," Remus retorted. His knuckles were clenched so tightly that they had turned white. The only part of him that was white. His face was red with anger or embarrassment, no one knew. "Are the words of an _ex-_Dark Creature hunter who knows nothing but danger and thinks everyone is dangerous now because he is _paranoid_."

"Fifteen points from Gryffindor for your cheek, once again, Mr. Lupin." Nazik said coldly, turning away from the boy and marching to the front of the classroom. "Keeps this up and I'll begin to believe you don't care at all about your house." All the Gryffindors, except the Marauders, glared at Remus about this. "Of course, it wouldn't surprise me if you didn't care. After all, I doubt anyone cares for you. Even your own father found death more suitable than living with you."

That did it.

All the Gryffindors suddenly found themselves finding the teacher as the enemy here, not Remus. They were all glaring at him. Remus jumped out of his seat to continue this argument with his professor, but suddenly found himself being pushed back down by James and Sirius, who magically appeared by his side.

"It's not worth it." Sirius hissed.

"Don't listen to anything that git has to say." James added.

As they got Remus back in his seat, Sirius returned to his while James left his hand on Remus's shoulder to keep him down. He could feel his friend shaking with rage, and he wasn't the only one. All the Marauders were glaring bloody murder at the teacher while the girls were shaking with rage. He even saw Lily muttering angrily under her breathe. Only the Slytherin, he noted, were enjoying the show_. Damn them_, he thought furiously.

It was quite possibly the worth class they ever had. Nazik was a biased git and kept throwing insults, mostly subtle after his first one, at Remus for the rest of the period. It took all of James's self-restraint to keep Remus in his seat and quiet _and _keep himself from arguing with his professor as well. The biased-prat of a teacher even kept taking points from Remus for no reason at all.

The only relief was that they were just taking notes today and that it wasn't on werewolves, but boggarts. A few questions were asked, but Remus kept quiet the whole time after the argument, which was for the best. Lily answered most of the question and got about half of the points that were unfairly taken from Remus back.

By the end of the class, James, Sirius, and Peter were rushing Remus out of the class before he and Nazik could get into another argument or the stupid teacher could hold him back for a horrible reason.

In the hall, a rage filled Remus was shaking with anger as he was guided as far away from the Defense classroom as possible. Sirius was pulling him along warily with Peter pushing. James, on the other hand, was frantically searching in his bag for something.

"Remus! Remus!"

The Marauders stopped and looked over their shoulders to see all the Gryffindor third year girls running to them.

"Ah, Evans and friends, what do we owe the pleasure?" Sirius asked as Lily was the lead girl in the group.

Lily ignored his tone this time as she turned to the red in the face Remus. "How are you?"

Remus flashed her a glare, but since he didn't want to take it out on her, he turned to the wall. He crossed his shaking arms over his chest.

"It was completely unfair what he was doing and what he said." Karen said angrily.

Mali and Mary nodded in agreement. "Just because you two disagreed on a topic doesn't mean he had to say something like that to you and taking all those points away. How could Dumbledore hire him?" The latter muttered.

"They are many completely bloody insane things Dumbledore does!" Remus about shouted. Ignited by his anger, he kicked the wall, hard! Pain flashed in his foot, but he paid it no attention. "This is by far the worse though!...actually, forget that. The worse is probably when–"

"FOUND IT!" James yelled, interrupting Remus from doing something stupid. He pulled out a bar of chocolate, grinning triumphantly. He ripped the foil off part of it and held it out to Remus, who glared at it.

"I don't want any bloody chocolate, Potter!" Remus snapped.

James frowned, feeling a little hurt. "It will help."

Remus snorted. "I don't see how cho–mmph!"

Without warning, James had shoved the bar into Remus's mouth before turning to his friends and the girls. "I hate Nazik."

"Dito."

"Same here."

"Git."

"Do you think we should tell someone?" Lily asked worriedly.

Remus, who up to this point had been enjoying the chocolate that was melting in his mouth, suddenly ripped the chocolate bar from his mouth and spun on his heels to glare at his housemates. It was ruined by the chocolate on his mouth though. "No," He hissed. "This is my problem alone. No one else is getting involved, understand?"

Without waiting for an answer, Remus stomped away to the dungeons for potions, wiping his mouth as he went.

**A/N: Please Review! **


	11. Chapter 11: The Marauder's War

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. **

**A/N: Thanks for reviewing!**

**By the way, since I am bored with my name, I have changed it to Crescent Marauder.**

**Hey, to any of you that read To Save the Future, I have moved the story to here: **** reading thehpbooks. Proboards index .cgi?board= tosave thefuture**

**The Marauders Year 3**

**Chapter 11: The Marauder's War**

"Guess what we heard!"

Irritably, Remus looked up from his homework to look at two annoying redhead twins that were in Gryffindor. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw his three friends glance up from their various activities as well. "How would we know what you heard?" He muttered.

James sighed. "I thought the chocolate would quench your anger."

"Not if it is as bad as we heard it was." Fabian said, now frowning.

"You heard about Defense?" Peter asked.

Gideon nodded. "How could we not? All those Slytherins are talking about it. Even if the Gryffindors are keeping quiet on someone's demands," he shot Remus a look here. "He can't keep the Slytherins quiet."

Scowling, Remus went back to his essay, but in his anger, his grip on his quill became too strong and it snapped in half.

"The baby lion is still furious." Fabian muttered.

"Anyway, Rems," Gideon started.

"BLOODY HELL!" Remus shouted, gaining the attention of all those in the common room.

Sirius, acting out of character for this was not his job, jumped to his feet for semi-damage control. He jumped onto his chair. "Sorry for that folks! Just ignore everything. There is nothing to see over here. Go back to your various activities." He said, adding a glare to help speed the process along.

"Does everyone have to call me that bloody name?" Remus shouted quietly this time.

"I like it." Gideon muttered.

James rolled his eyes. "Don't mind him. He's just irate because of Nazik. Once he calms down, you can call him it."

Gideon nodded. "Anyway, Dumbledore is looking for you. He says to go to his office. And he wanted you to know that he loves cauldron cakes. Perhaps you should invest in getting him some."

Remus slammed his book shut and stood up, only to be pulled back down by James. "You can't go feeling angry like you are." He hissed.

"No problem. I got the perfect remedy." Peter said, digging around in his bag. He pulled out a few chocolate frogs from his bag and tossed them to James.

Catching the chocolate frogs, James turned back to his friend and held them out to him. "Eat this and calm down. You don't want to freak out on Dumbledore, which you will do with how you are now."

Rolling his eyes, Remus took the frogs. He ripped one opened, watched it jump onto the table and grabbed it. He dropped it in his mouth whole. The savory taste of chocolate was like a dream come true to him. His eyes glazed over in delightfulness at the taste.

"I'm heading out now," He said when he finished the frog in his mouth. He stuffed the other ones in pocket, saluted his friends in a mocking way, and left the tower.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

Remus stopped in front of the gargoyle statue on the fifth floor that led to the Headmaster's office. He shoved another chocolate frog in his mouth and ate it before mumbling the password, "Cauldron cakes" to the statue. The stairs from below the statue began their ascent to the top of the tower with the statue in the lead. He jumped onto one of the stairs and allowed it to take him to the top.

At the top when the stairs came to a stop, Remus jumped off and headed over to the door where he knocked a few times.

"Come in." A quiet voice said.

Pushing the doors open, Remus spotted his Headmaster sitting behind his desk as if waiting for him to come. "Evening, Professor." He greeted politely.

"Come on in, Mr. Lupin, and please take a seat." Dumbledore said, waving towards one of the chairs in front of his desk.

Remus gingerly sat down. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes." Dumbledore replied, but said no more. Instead, he just looked at Remus over his spectacles.

Remus wasn't in the mood for games though and ended up glaring at his Headmaster. "What did you want to talk about, sir?"

"Is something the matter, Mr. Lupin?" Dumbledore asked kindly.

"No." Remus answered immediately, but then paused. He looked at his Headmaster with a considering expression. "Yes."

Dumbledore gave a small smile and leaned forward slightly. "Care to tell me what it is?"

Gold eyes glared at the Headmaster. "How could you?" He whispered. The betrayal in his voice echoed around the room. All the other Headmasters and Headmistresses of the past tried to act like they were sleeping, but Remus knew better. Portraits were just as much gossipers as the students. It was no wonder nothing stayed a secret here. "I trusted you, and then you go and hire an ex-Dark Creature hunter as a Defense teacher. And if that's not bad enough, you tell him what I am! Granted, he would have found out eventually, but for him to know right off the bat! How could you?"

"All the professors need to be aware of your condition to make allowances for you missing their classes and giving you make-up work." Dumbledore told him. "It is not normal for a student to miss so much school. The teachers would realize something was wrong immediately if I did not inform them."

"BUT why an ex-Dark Creature hunter? He'll be out for my blood!" Remus half-shouted.

"Mr. Lupin, please calm down. Would you care for a pepper imp?" Dumbledore motioned to the candy dish on his desk.

Remus shook his head.

Dumbledore sighed. "Mr. Lupin, I assure you, you will be fine with him as a teacher. He won't try to harm you. He gave his word."

"Like that will mean anything." Remus grumbled.

"Please, Mr. Lupin, behave and be respectful to him. He is a teacher. In return, he will give the same treatment. If you two were to have another argument like today," Dumbledore began.

Remus frowned. "It was a debate, not an argument." He interrupted stubbornly. He would not lose this war just because Dumbledore interfered. "We just had different opinions."

The Headmaster frowned as he looked at his student over his spectacles. "I heard differently, Mr. Lupin."

"Those were rumors." Remus continued on stubbornly. "Rumors get warped when they are spread around like that. Those gossipers like to make everything into something more than it is."

"Are you sure this is the road you want to go down?" Dumbledore asked solemnly.

"Road, sir?" Remus asked, frowning slight. "Sorry. I do not know what you mean by road."

Dumbledore sighed, but did not press the issue. "They are not many who will accept the Defense Against the Dark Arts job as it is said to be jinxed. Something always befalls the Defense teacher before the end of the school year that caused them to have to leave. Because of this, not many apply for the job. Among the few that do apply, I must choose the most qualified."

"Even if it is one that will be out for a student's blood?" Remus said harshly.

"Mr. Lupin, as I have already said, Professor Nazik will hold no grudges to you. He has already given his word on that. He was the most qualified of all the applicants this time around, and I could not simply deny him the job or the students a good teacher because of one student."

"I understand that, Professor." Remus said, though he did not sound pleased with it. Though the betrayal he was feeling did ebb a little. Dumbledore was just doing his job. It was not a personal vendetta against him. "May I be dismissed?"

Dumbledore gave a tired sigh, but nodded. "You may go, Mr. Lupin."

As Remus approached the office door, he heard his Headmaster's parting words. "Remus, please remember, you are not alone here. Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those that ask for it."

Even though he understood that his Headmaster wanted him to talk to him, Remus said nothing. He just nodded his head without turning to face his professor and left the office. If there was one thing that all the student so of this school shared, it was stubbornness. That belonged to them as they were teenagers who hated asking for help. Teenagers thought it was shameful to their pride to ask for help. It was something they all had to learn to not rely on.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"Lo, Remus." Sirius greeted when his friend returned to his seat in front of the fireplace in the common room.

James looked up from the chess game he and Peter were playing on the floor. "What did Dumbledore want?"

"Nothing." Remus snapped, but when he saw the hurt that flashed briefly in James's eyes, he frowned. Groaning, he dropped his head to the armrest of the chair he sat in. "God, I'm so sorry, James. I've been a real prat today, haven't I?"

"Most definite." Sirius said.

"Without a doubt." James added.

"The biggest prat ever." Peter concluded.

Remus sent them a half-hearted glare. "Thank you for not laying it on so thick."

Sirius shrugged. "Even so, mate, we're not mad with you. You had every right to be upset with the way Nazik treated you."

Remus shrugged. "It's not important now. We only have that blasted class on Tuesdays and Thursdays."

"Yes! Think positively." Sirius said, nodding his head as if he was a wise, old man.

The mental image caused Remus to snort.

"Anyway, there is much that must be done!"

Remus stared at James, who had completely abandoned the game with Peter to turn to the other two with excitement shining in his eyes. "What are you on about?" The werewolf demanded.

"Pranks, of course, my dear Remy." James replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You idiots never stop, do you?" Remus muttered, shaking his head.

"Us?" Peter asked, frowning. "What about you? You're helping us."

"An excellent point, dear Peter." James said, nodding as if this was a serious issue.

Remus rolled his eyes and sat up. "Why do you even want to do a prank?"

Sirius gasped dramatically. "He….he dares to think that we need a reason!" He exclaimed, pointing a shaking finger at Remus, who rolled his eyes yet again.

"Cut the drama, Siri." Remus mumbled.

"Siri?" Sirius paused, staring at his friend with a frown. "Do. Not. Call. Me. That. Remy."

The werewolf turned to look at his friend fully and raised a brow in a challenging manner. "And why ever not, _Siri_?"

"That's it!" Sirius roared, gaining the whole attention of the common room, though he didn't notice it as he launched himself off the couch and at the chair that Remus was sitting in. The latter yelped in surprise as he was tackled over the armrest and to the floor with Sirius on top of him.

"SIRIUS BLACK!" Remus yelled, taking a fist full of his friend's shirt to flip them over so he was on top.

"Why must they always try to kill each other?" Peter mumbled, sharing a look with James.

"It's cause they always HAVE TO BLOODY TEST EACH OTHER TEMPERS!" James yelled angrily, jumping into the fray with his two other best friends. He had originally meant to pull them apart, but when he got punched in the crossfire, that was too much for him.

"Why are there never any Prefects around?" Shawn grumbled to Gideon and Fabian, who were both watching the boys in great enjoyment.

Gideon grinned. "They have awesome luck?"

"POTTER! I'M GOING TO MURDERYOU!" Sirius bellowed.

Peter glanced at his wrestling friends, shrugged, and opened a chocolate bar. He threw his feet on the table in front of him and relaxed back in his seat.

Remus suddenly kicked both of his friends in the side to get them off him. They each gasped at the kick and separated. With them separated, he was free to stand up. He made a show of dusting himself off, glaring at each of them in turn with a raised brow as if daring them to say something, anything. Both of them stared back at him with a frown.

It took a few moments of tense silence in the common room before the blacked haired boys stood up. All three boys looked at each other. Each was waiting for the other to break the silence.

Surprisingly, it was Remus who broke the silence. "I call a war on you two prats."

Raising a brow in confusion, Sirius turned to James. "A war?" They echoed together before looking at Remus. "A war?"

"The Marauder's War. When a Marauder gets annoyed with another Marauder, he may call a war on them. If they get more annoyed or mad at them throughout the day, a double war, a triple war, or however many wars come up. The terms of the war are that it lasts until midnight and that you are enemies during the day. The war may only end early if or when something extremes comes up." Remus explained, smirking a bit. That smirk grew when he heard the groans from Gryffindors. "After that, it is over. No more after that."

"Sounds fun, Remus, but how do we fight in this war?" Sirius asked, grinning a bit.

Remus raised a brow. "You really have to ask? I thought you were smarter than that."

Sirius's brow twitched a bit before he suddenly smirked. "That's it! I call a war on you, Remus John!"

"You don't even know how we fight in this war and you're already trying to call one?" Remus said mockingly. Seeing the fire in his friend's eyes, Remus skidded around the chair and to the other side of the common room so he was closer to the portrait door. All the Gryffindors moved out of his way. They were brave, but no one wanted to get in the affairs of the Marauders.

"Then please explain, Remus." James said as he grabbed Sirius to keep him from killing their friend.

"Why, the best way for the Marauders to fight in the Marauder's Wars is by doing what we do best." Remus grinned wickedly. His eyes sparkled with more mischief than anyone, besides his three best friends, has ever soon. "Pranks, of course!"

Before anyone could react, Remus had whipped his wand out and had it trained on his two black haired friends. He whispered a few spells before turning around and running from the common room.

James and Sirius stood in horror in the common room. They were almost too afraid to look at each other to see what happened. But when they heard the students roaring with laughter, they took a glance at each other and stared in horror.

That…that prat that they called their best friend had transfigured their uniforms into a pink dress for Sirius and a baby blue dress for James. Both dresses had corsets in them and were sparkling! But he couldn't just stop there. Noooo! He wouldn't be a Marauder if he did. He had put bows…..BOWS in their hair. Sirius's hair was even braided with the bows tied at the bottom.

"I'll murder him." Sirius snarled, yanking a bow out of his hair.

"Sirius," James said, practically shaking with rage. "I say we strike up an alliance and find that git and pay him back tenfold!"

Peter stopped his snickering and raised a brow. "Is that even allowed?"

"He never said it wasn't!" James shouted before stomping over to the dorm steps with Sirius. "Oh, he is going to wish he never made the Marauder's Wars!"

As the last Marauder left in the common room, all eyes were on Peter to see what he would do. He raised a brow at them and shrugged before standing up. "I want no part. We haven't even been back a week yet." With that, he moved over to the portrait hole, intent on sneaking to the kitchen to get a snack before dinner. The moment he stepped out of the portrait though, silver and green paint poured all over him. An indignant scream tore from him.

"REMUS LUPIN! YOU ARE A DEAD MAN! I CALL A BLOODY WAR ON YOU!" Peter yelled at the top of his lungs.

Breathing heavily, Peter spun on his heel and marched to the dorms. An evil glint was suddenly in his eyes. As he was marching up the stairs, the students in the common room could hear him shout, "James, Sirius, I am on your damn side in this war!"

"Three against one? Who will win in this Marauder's War?" Ness announced in his commenter's voice. "The James-Sirius-Peter alliance or Remus!"

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"So where would he be?" James asked casually as three-fourths of the Marauders walked down the corridor on the third floor.

"Oh, he's around here. He's a Gryffindor! He wouldn't hide in the middle of a war, especially when he started this!" Sirius exclaimed.

"I don't know. This is Re–ARGH!" Peter shouted when a ghost walked right through him.

Sirius and James started to snicker, but then they both shouted out too when the same ghost floated right through them without a glance at any of them.

"What the big idea?" Sirius yelled at the ghost, only to be ignored. Huffing, he turned to his friends in annoyance. "What the hell was that about?"

James shrugged. "Who knows? Ghosts are weird."

"Ugh. Remind me to never become a ghost when I die." Sirius grumbled.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

Whistling cheerfully, Remus nodded to a few students as he walked down the hall. He had thought it best to be on the move after his werewolf hearing allowed him to hear Peter's declaration that he was at war with Remus. It was amazing that he managed to anger all three of his best friends in less than five minutes. He really liked this skill of his, except that it brought a horrible alliance against him, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.

After all, he was the one to always make the plans so their pranks could be done successfully.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"MARAUDERS!"

"Ah, Professor Minnie!" Sirius greeted with an extravagant bow.

Professor McGonagall glared at the boy and his three chuckling friends. Her lips were pressed very thin as she looked at each of them. Everyone else in the Great Hall for dinner were staring at the five in silence, anxiously and worriedly waiting for the punishment that was sure to come. The Gryffindors were all frowning deeply. They were going to lose so many points for this!

"What," Professor McGonagall began harshly. Her voice sounded so hoarse with how angry she was. "Do you four think you are doing?"

The four boys glanced at each other, then at the Great Hall which was filled with ankle deep water, a few kids floating in the air, a few kids spotting different colored hair, a few others transformed into their house animal, and the obnoxiously loud screeching that went off every few minutes. The Marauders, themselves, looked unharmed, but that was because they had managed to remove each prank that they were affected with.

"Professor, we are in the process of pranking Lupin into an early grave. Can this wait?" James asked, shooting a mock glare at his friend.

Remus raised a brow. "You can try, Potter, but as I recall, I am winning this war so you three will be the ones put into an early grave." He said with mock arrogance while smirking.

"No! You four are done!" McGonagall said very, very quietly in such a strained voice that anyone would have to be completely insane to go against her.

"But ma'am, we're in the middle of a Marauder's War! We can't just stop!" Sirius, ever the insane one, protested.

McGonagall narrowed her eyes at him.

Sirius smiled weakly. "Then again, we may have gone too far."

"What is a Marauder's War?" McGonagall demanded.

Sirius, James, and Peter glanced at Remus, who stared blankly at them. As one, they all turned back to their Head of House. "Do you really want to know?" Remus asked politely.

Once again, McGonagall glanced at each of her lions, frowning deeply. "No. I do, however, want to give you each two weeks of detention and take twenty points from Gryffindor…..from each of you."

"Two weeks?" James echoed.

"Aww, come on, Professor McGonagall!" Sirius argued. "Two weeks for this? We didn't even do anything that bad! And it's not like we were aiming for all those other students. They just got in our way. We were actually aiming for each other!"

"In the Great Hall in the middle of dinner?" McGonagall asked. "And what did you think would happen if one of you happened to dodge?"

Remus glanced at the Great Hall, smiling a little. "I assumed something like this would happen."

"And that is funny how, Mr. Lupin?" McGonagall asked, almost dangerously.

"How is it not funny?" Remus retorted. "I mean, it's not often you get to see a controlled mess like this, and it's not like it's anything dangerous. Now, if it was something dangerous, it would in no way be humorous."

"Aren't you supposed to be the good Marauder, Mr. Lupin?" McGonagall asked.

Remus blinked. "I am? I didn't know we had titles, but I suppose I would be considered the good one. I mean, that's not a hard title to get when competing with Sirius, James, and Peter."

"I would like to object to that." Peter argued, glaring at Remus. "You can be just as bad as Sirius and James. You are not 'the good one.'"

"Then what am I?"

"I don't know. I don't know what the titles are that the teachers have deemed us with. All I know is that 'the good one' does not fit you! Honestly, what do these teachers see in you that would even make them consider that?" Peter said flabbergasted.

James snickered. "It's not what they see, Peter!"

"Yes, you are right, James. It's because he manipulates them into thinking he is good, polite, and innocent!" Sirius declared before spinning to look at Remus and pointing an accusing finger at him. "You traitor! Marauders are never, and never act, innocent!"

Remus blinked at him. He really had no response to that so all he could was stare at his friend, who decided that since he wasn't getting a response that he would suddenly run out of the Great Hall and leaving everyone to stare at his back than at the others.

"Yes!" James declared dramatically, grinning impishly at Remus. "Banish the traitor!"

And he too disappeared from the Great Hall.

Remus just blinked again.

"Down! Down with the Marauder's traitor! Burn him!" Peter shouted, pointing a finger at Remus as he declared this.

Then, he was gone as well.

Remus blinked, then looked at his Professor. "Professor, do you think I'll be insane and belong in an insane asylum by the time my seven years at Hogwarts is up?"

Professor McGonagall gave him a small smile. "You'll be lucky to make it through the year, Mr. Lupin."

**A/N: Please Review! **


	12. Chapter 12: The Wolf Cries

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. **

**A/N: Thanks for reviewing!**

**Okay, I made a mistake which is why I'm updating now. I was replacing chapter 2 in The Marauders Year 1 and accidentally put it as chapter 4. Such a stupid mistake when I was being so careful….anyway, I know some of my readers like to save my stories to their hard drives so I was hoping that one of you had Year 1 and if you do, can you give me chapter 4? I am soooo hoping that one of you have it. I don't really remember what was in the chapter. **

**By the way, cause of my hurry and since I didn't really want to update this yet, it's not proofread. **

**The Marauders Year 3**

**Chapter 12: The Wolf Cries **

"Dearest Marauders!"

Remus looked up from his breakfast and raised a brow at the redheaded twins. "Don't you two have anything better to do than to bother a group of third years?"

Gideon and Fabian exchanged glances then looked back at Remus. "No." They said together.

"What do you need anyway?" James asked, forgetting his breakfast to give the twins his full attention. Their antics amused him greatly after all.

"Well, we just saw Professor Nazik." Fabian started, but stopped when he saw that his audience was looking at him darkly. He didn't blame them. In the past week, things only got worse for the Gryffindors because of their Defense teacher unexplained hatred of Remus. The Gryffindors have constantly been badgering Remus for the past couple week to go to a teacher and tell them about Nazik since he was the victim and only the victim could do something. Without the victim complaining, nothing could be done, but Remus absolutely, positively, refused to say anything to anyone. Still, the teachers all knew what was going on with Remus and Nazik, but until he complained, they couldn't do anything but listen to the other students talk about the unfair treatment and attempt to restore the unfairly taken points to Gryffindor in any way they could, even for the stupidest of reasons. It wouldn't be a fair competition for the house cup otherwise.

"He looks very spiteful today." Fabian added

The Marauders shared uneasy looks. They knew exactly why their Defense professor would be extremely unhappy today.

It was the full moon.

The first full moon of the school year. It was a day the Marauders normally dreaded, but they dreaded it even more this month because of their Defense professor this year.

"Remus, avoid him at all costs. Otherwise, we are losing five hundred points today and we don't even have that many." All six of them glanced out of the hall where the hourglasses were and looked at Gryffindors, which had the least of the houses with two hundred and fifteen points.

"We would never get out of the negatives." Gideon commented before turning back to Remus. "You don't have his class today, do you?"

Fabian peered at the younger boy. "I don't think it really matters, Gid. Look at him! He looks like death has come for him early!"

It was true. Remus was very pale and clammy. Sweat was running down his face, even though he was constantly dabbing at his face to clean it up. His gold eyes were wide and a bit doused with something that looked like pain, which confused the twins a bit. He also seemed to have trouble holding things as his hands would give sudden jerks at random times. It also seemed that, by the dark circles under his eyes, that he didn't get much sleep the night before and was exhausted, which would be why it looked like he had trouble paying attention to the conversation.

"You're not going to make it through the day." Fabian told him, frowning slightly.

The twins were so focused on Remus that they didn't notice James, Sirius, and Peter sighing in relief. They had all wanted to bring the subject up, but didn't dare because they knew how Remus would feel. He would snap at them that he was fine and it was nothing he couldn't handle and say that they worried about him too much or paid too much attention to him. But if someone else was to start the subject, it would allow them the chance to say what they wanted.

"That's what we think, but he is too stubborn to go rest in the Hospital Wing, saying he _can't _miss classes." Sirius said, stressing the word can't as if the whole idea was insane and completely wrong to him. What kid wouldn't give for the chance to skip classes?

"Why? It's not like he learn anything in this state. It will all go in one ear and out the other!" Fabian replied.

James rolled his eyes. "He's Remus! He doesn't make sense!"

"Right." Gideon said, a bit distracted as he looked at the entrance to the Great Hall. "Nazik is here!"

Fabian narrowed his eyes at the man, who was scanning the students as if looking for someone. Realizing what he was doing, Fabian pushed Remus under the table and held him there by keeping his hand on his head. Sirius shifted slightly to block Remus so it didn't look like someone was sitting under the table.

Since he didn't see his _favorite_, and only Gideon thought in disgust, victim, Nazik continued to the Head Table without a word to anyone. Once he was sitting down and eating, Fabian and Sirius let Remus crawl out from under the table.

"He was actually going to try to get you in the middle of the Great Hall with all the teachers watching. He's confident." Gideon growled.

"It's cause Remus would never complain." James rolled his eyes again. "In fact, if Nazik tried something in here and a teacher saw, I bet Remus would defend Nazik." He shot a look at his werewolf friend, who stared steely back.

"I would." Remus said harshly. He leaned forward to be closer to James. "But that's because he is _mine_. If you think I'm taking this lying down, you're dead wrong."

Fabian and Gideon shared smirks. "A Marauder out for revenge against a teacher. This year just got more interesting. We will assist you in anyway, Marauders."

"Don't you have N.E.W.T.s to focus on?" Remus asked them.

The twins shrugged. "We'll be fine. We want to enjoy our last year here, not just spend all our time studying." Fabian explained.

"We should leave." Peter said suddenly. "Nazik spotted Remus."

James and Sirius whipped around to face the Head Table. Indeed, Nazik was staring hungrily at Remus. It seemed their dear professor would very much like to destroy their friend. "And escape we shall." James said, standing up. "It's so lucky we don't have him today."

"Going to the Hospital Wing?" Fabian asked.

"No," Remus replied. "History of Magic."

"Oh, that is definitely a class you can skip without worry, Reme." Gideon said, falling into steps behind the third years.

Remus stopped walking and looked over his shoulder at the seventh year. "Reme? How many times can you idiots butcher my name?"

"I don't know. How many do we have so far?" Sirius asked.

"So far we have Re, Remy, Reme, Remykins, Remy-poo. That is five. Do you think we could get more?" Peter asked, grinning at Remus.

"Don't try." Remus muttered but without his usual fire.

"It's no fun to tease you when you're sick." Sirius whined.

"Then leave me alone to my misery." Remus said.

"I don't get why you don't just go to the Hospital Wing. It is a simple Pepperup Potion, then you are all better." Gideon told him.

"If only it was that simple," James said bitterly to Sirius and Peter quietly. Though, unfortunately for him, Gideon and Fabian heard him, but they made no indication that they heard it. They shared a look, curiously wondering what the four boys knew that they didn't.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

James, Sirius, and Peter grinned as they saw Remus stumbling out of Ancient Runes. They had taken Muggle Studies while Remus had Ancient Runes. Somehow they had made it to the Ancient Runes's classroom in time to catch their friend before he disappeared. He had come out with Lily, who had a hand on his arm to steady him a bit. On his other side was Karen, who was gripping his other arm and had a hand on his back.

"You okay, Remus?" James called, flashing the girls a smile. Both girls smiled a bit at him.

"Lo, James." Remus greeted. He turned to Lily and Karen. "Thanks."

Lily and Karen nodded to him. "Take care, Remus. You really should have gone to the Hospital Wing, stubborn boy." Lily added, smiling at him.

As the boys walked away from the girls, Sirius turned to Remus. "I'm actually surprised you made it through the day. This is the worse you have ever looked before a full moon."

"It looks worse than it is." Remus said, suppressing a grimace.

Unnoticed by Remus, who was suddenly looking away from his friends, his three friends shared looks that clearly said '_liar_.' The teenager werewolf took a shaky breath as he forced his legs to walk farther. His body felt so achy. He just wanted to collapse to the ground and lie there all day.

"Are you sure you do–"

Remus stiffened suddenly. He sniffed the air briefly as horror filled his eyes. "Nazik is approaching."

"Got to love heightened senses." Sirius hissed, looking around. "I say, we run. Meeting that bloody prat now will only make everything worse."

"Broom cupboard," James said, nodding his head to it.

"To the broom cupboard." Sirius declared, throwing the door open. Peter pushed Remus inside before the others piled in. The door slammed shut just in time.

Each boy anxiously held their breathe. Nazik may not have heightened senses, but from his years of experience in being a Dark Creature hunter, he was more skilled in observation and taking everything in. He would no doubt hear them in here if they made the slightest noise.

Sirius pressed his ear to the door, desperately trying to hear for when Nazik passed. While he was doing that, James and Peter were trying to shush Remus, who almost groaned when his achy muscles hit the ground after Peter pushed him into the closet. The bespectacled boy pushed his hand into Remus's mouth to keep him from saying anything.

Straining his ears to hear through the door, Sirius wished that he had better hearing like Remus. That would make hearing through such a thick door easy. As it was, he almost missed the footsteps when they did walk passed the door. He waved at his friends to single that he heard Nazik. He kept listening till he couldn't hear the footsteps anymore. Just to be sure, he waited a few minutes longer to make sure that Nazik was truly gone.

After a few moment of silence, Sirius opened the door a crack and looked around. When there was no sight of anyone around, he pushed the door open the rest of the way and sighed in relief as he and his friends crawled out of the closet.

"Man, I wish there was a way to track people so we knew when they were gone." Sirius grumbled. "It would be much easier than listening through a door."

"I don't think that is possible, mate." Peter said.

"Actually, a tracking spell would do it." Remus said, but didn't say anything else on the subject as he dragged himself to the tower where he collapsed in front of the fire. He wanted to get some of his homework done before the full moon rose, but he just didn't have the energy to do any work. His friends came in and sat around him. Without realizing it, he felt himself fall slightly over and lean against James's chest. He wanted to move, but he just didn't have the energy to lift his head off his friend's shoulder.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"Something is up." Gideon declared.

"What are you talking about?" Shawn demanded, looking up from his work with a frown. "We have N.E.W.T.s this year and you are trying to discover some conspiracy theory, instead of working?" He noticed that both twins weren't paying their study session any attention. All their attention was focused on the other side of the common room where four familiar third years were sitting.

"You two are spending too much time with those four. You need to focus on studying." Angel chided.

Fabian rolled his eyes. "Why bother? We've only been in classes a week and a half." He said as he too turned to look at the Marauders. The four of them were sitting on the floor around Remus. Remus was half-sprawled on James with his legs thrown out in front of him. Sirius was leaning back on his hands, speaking quietly. Peter was petting Dusk, who was curled up in front of him.

Sighing, Angel put her book to the side. "Okay, what has got you two so attracted to those four boys?"

Gideon and Fabian blinked. "What doesn't catch our attention?"

"They're pranksters."

"Smart."

"Funny."

"Creative."

"Interesting."

"Get to the point already so we can study. We do have a potions test tomorrow." Shawn snapped.

Gideon leaned across the table and whispered, "There's something wrong."

"Wrong?" Ness echoed, shaking his head. "You two really make no sense."

"Surely you've seen it." Fabian whispered harshly. "Remus has always been disappearing a lot in the past two years and he always looks deathly ill when he disappears."

"You paid that much attention when he was a first year?" Ness said in disbelief.

"We said they were interesting." Gideon said impatiently. "Look, we just want to know what is going on with him, and by the sounds of it, all the Marauders know."

"Ah, you're being nosy." Angel growled. "What's it matter why he leaves? And how would you even know that his friends know?"

"Cause in the Great Hall this morning, James said, 'if only it was that simple' when I suggested Remus go get a Pepperup potion from Madam Pomfrey." Gideon explained.

Shawn rolled his eyes. "Can't you guys just leave it? I don't think my beater and seeker will appreciate it much if you stalk their _best _friend for his secret." He said, nodding to the black haired boys talking avidly to Remus.

"But it might have to do with why Nazik hates Remus so much!" Fabian said.

Shawn hit his forehead. "And why would you think that?"

"I overhead some third years talking about how their professors kept asking if Remus wanted to skip class today–"

"Cause he's sick." Angel snapped. "Just leave it, okay? If something was wrong, he'd tell someone."

Fabian rolled his eyes. "Like with Nazik?"

"They're leaving." Ness commented, quite amused by the situation.

"What?" Gideon and Fabian said, whipping around to see James helping Remus to his feet. Together, they left the tower. The twins noticed that they were standing slightly closer to Remus than usual, but not by so much that it would be noticeable to those who weren't looking for it.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"James, Jamie, Jamesy," Remus muttered, almost in a delirious state, as he stumbled down the corridor like a drunk man.

Now that they were alone, James moved closer to Remus. He threw Remus's arm over his shoulder and wrapped his other arm around his friend's waist. There was no way he was going to let his friend walk to the Hospital Wing alone, especially with all the stairs he had to get down.

"Jamesy, I have something important to tell you." Remus whispered to his friend.

"What is it, Remus?" James asked, coming to a stop in front of the first staircase. He looked over Remus's head at his other two friends. Getting the message, Sirius took up Remus's other side.

"They're getting suspicious, Jamie. They want to know." Remus muttered as he was dragged gently down the stairs by his friends. He tried to support his own weight and walk down the stairs, but his legs didn't feel like responding correctly.

"Who is suspicious?" James asked.

"Gideon and Fabian. In the common room, they were discussing it with their friends. They want to know." Remus mumbled.

James frowned darkly. He shared a dark look with Sirius. "Don't worry, Remus. It will be fine. We'll take care of them. Tonight, you were feeling so ill that you had to go to the Hospital Wing. Since you were an idiot and went to class all day, you exhausted yourself too much and Madam Pomfrey made you stay overnight. That is your story for now."

"Thank you." Remus murmured.

Peter walked a little ways ahead of his friends to get the Hospital Wing doors opened for them. He held them open while James and Sirius dragged Remus inside. It was lucky for them that they didn't meet anyone on the way there. As they deposited Remus on a bed, Peter went to get Madam Pomfrey from her office.

"Dear, dear," Madam Pomfrey murmured the moment she saw the clammy and pale Remus on the bed. He had finally succumbed to the pain in his muscles and curled into a ball. His eyes were half-open so he could look at the nurse.

"My mom says the transformations are going to get worse now that he hit puberty." James commented.

Madam Pomfrey nodded. She brushed Remus's bangs from his sweaty face. "Your mother would be right." Her hand moved to his neck where she checked that his pulse was alright. "At the very least, his transformations will be like this for two years. At the most, I believe it would be three years."

"Will it get better after that?" Peter asked worriedly.

"It will still be horrible, very horrible, but he should at least be able to handle the symptoms before the full moon better as time goes on." Madam Pomfrey replied, looking down at her patient in pity that she knew Remus would have snapped at her for if he had been aware enough to notice it. "Can one of you get his wand out? I believe we should leave it here for the night. He will be too tired to lock it in a cabinet in the shack tonight. Also, I would like one of you to stay and help me get him down to the shack."

"Can't all three of us go?" James asked.

Madam Pomfrey shook her head, smiling sadly. These boys were amazing. "I am sorry, boys. It would draw too much attention if you all came along. I wouldn't even be asking this, if it wasn't for the fact that Remus needs help walking. I would gladly do it, but I am much too tall to help a thirteen you old walk and get him into the shack. Plus, it would cause us to go extremely slow and I'm sure you three would like to help your friend in any way possible."

"I'll stay!" Three voices replied at once when they heard the reasons.

Madam Pomfrey smiled at the loyalty these boys showed to their friend. "Why don't you take turns each month? I daresay we'll be doing this for a while."

The three boys shared looks.

"James can go with you this month." Sirius decided without giving his friends a chance to speak.

James looked at him surprised.

Sirius shrugged. "You were the one he was leaning against all day for support. He might be more comfortable with you this month."

James nodded.

Before they left, Sirius and Peter murmured comforting words to Remus, though they couldn't be sure if he heard them or understood what they were saying. But it was the thought that counted here. They just wanted their friend to at least see their faces and reassuring smiles before he transformed.

When Madam Pomfrey was ready, James carefully pulled Remus into a sitting position. Once he was sitting at the edge of the bed, Remus started to fall forward, but was lucky enough that James was standing in front of him and was able to catch him.

"I am really glad he has you three." Madam Pomfrey said as she led her charge and his friend out of the Hospital Wing.

James smiled sadly as he helped his stumbling friend through the halls of Hogwarts. "Prejudice is stupid."

It was a difficult and long job getting Remus through the tunnel under the Whomping Willow and through the trap door in the shack, but James didn't mind. Right now, this was all he could do for his friend. He would at least do this until they managed to complete Operation Moony.

Once he got his friend lying on the torn up couch, James leaned over Remus's face. "Remus? Are you still awake?"

"Mmhm." Remus said after a moment. "Too much pain to sleep."

"At least you are more alert than you were earlier." James said.

"Leave, please." Remus whispered hoarsely.

"I will, Remus. I'll be gone soon." James replied soothingly. "Before I go, I just want to tell you that we're with you. Remember us, Remus. We're not going to leave you. We're here to help you. Don't forget who you are. You are Remus, a Marauder, our very best friend, a prankster, and so much more. Remember that. I'll see you tomorrow, Remus."

James ran out of the room without a glance back. If he didn't move fast, he would have stopped and looked back at his friend in fear and pity, things he knew his friend didn't want. Remus wanted to be treated like everyone else so James had to make sure he didn't have any time to feel any of those things. He jumped down the trapdoor and rolled out of the way as Madam Pomfrey shut it and put wards around it to keep Remus in.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

In the shack, Remus had gone rigid. None of his muscles could move. All he could do was stare at the ceiling of the living room with his breath coming in short, painful gasps. If he tried to move even a finger, blazing white hot pain would flare up in his entire body. He wasn't even moving and his whole body was covered in sweat. It was a cold sweat that sent chills down his spine. There was so much sweat on his body that it felt like he had jumped into the lake.

The wait for the moon to rise completely was horrible. It always was, but tonight, it felt so much worse. Each minute that went by felt like an hour. He briefly recalled James mentioning to Madam Pomfrey that his transformations would be worse now because he going through puberty. Is that what he meant by worse? It wasn't even his transformation yet and he already felt horrible.

As the transformation got closer and closer, Remus began to feel dizzy. He was so dizzy that he began to see double of everything. It was enough to give him a headache, but that was nothing compared to the achiness that was present in every inch of his body.

Finally, the moon had risen, and Remus knew this because his back suddenly arched violently and a gasp of pain escape him. A gasp that was soon turned into a loud, painful scream. Each of his bones snapped with a sickening CRACK! It hurt so much! All he wanted to do was cry, cry for someone to come save him, but he knew no one would ever be there for him. He was all alone. Nobody in this world would come help him.

"_Remus, don't let the moon own you. Don't fear it. Embrace it. Show it that you aren't afraid. Once, you were alone and had every reason to fear it, but we're here with you now, Remus. Remember us, your friends, tonight." Sirius's voice whispered in his memory._

Without even meaning to, a familiar name escaped his lips as he cried in pain. "SIRIUS!"

*Y*E*A*R*3*

Sirius looked away from the redhead twins to glance out the window in the common room. He noticed that the moon had risen. The twins also turned to look out the window, curious as to what grabbed the younger boy's attention, but all they saw was the full moon.

"Remus," Sirius whispered so quietly that he was practically mouthing the name.

A chilling sensation swept down his spine. A cold dread had filled his heart. How was his friend surviving out there all by himself? It must be so lonely and painful to go through that all alone each month. But as he told Remus, he was no longer alone on the full moon. Even if they weren't there in person, they were there in spirit. None of them would ever betray a friend in need. And right now, Remus was calling for them. They needed to become Animagi quickly. Hearing his friend's cry was too much.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

Remus's broken limbs flew all over the places. Tears of pains shined in his eyes, but, even now, he refused to let them fall. He thrashed around on the couch until his broken body fell to the ground. Broken bones slamming into the ground caused him to scream him pain.

What felt like hours, was actually only a minute or two. His bones began to reshape and form into different size and shape bones. His skin stretched so far as his whole body reformed into that of an animal. He heard the sound of fabric ripping but paid it no mind.

"_You are never alone anymore, Remus. All our thoughts go with you each and every full moon. Never forget who you are. Your mind may be a wolf, but your heart is still Remus John Lupin." Peter's voice murmured quietly in his head._

Another familiar name escaped Remus. "PETER!"

*Y*E*A*R*3*

Peter crept up the stairs as quickly as he could. He had just managed to escape the questions from the twins. Remus was right. They really did want to know what was going on. He could now understand the annoyance of having others snoop into business that is not their own.

Before he could reach the dorm, he stopped on the second floor platform to look out the window. He paled slightly when he saw the moon had risen. Like Sirius, a sudden chilling feeling ran down his spine and into his the very tips of his fingers. His patient, kind, funny, and fellow Marauder was out there in the shack all by himself. The wolf was in the shack, but to him, he was still Remus. Nothing could ever change that. He was Remus, who was lonely with no friends before Hogwarts, just like him. His hand clenched into a fist as he stared determinedly out the window. He would help his friend, no matter what because that is what friends did for one another.

"Remus," He whispered, leaning his forehead against the cool window as he stared at the full moon.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

His nails grew longer. Fur started to sprout up all over his body. He stretched an arm out, wanting desperately to grab hold of something for comfort through this pain. With nothing to grab, his now clawed paw scratched at the ground.

"_Remember us, Remus. We're not going to leave you. We're here to help you. Don't forget who you are. You are Remus, a Marauder, our very best friend, a prankster, and so much more. Remember that. I'll see you tomorrow, Remus." James's voice sounded clearly through his pain filled mind._

"JAMES!" Was the last name Remus could get out before his screams of pain became howls of agony.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

James paused on the fifth floor corridor. He looked out the window that overlooked the Whomping Willow. The tree was once again flailing its limbs all over the place.

His heart practically froze for a moment as he stared at the tree. He didn't know how, but he knew that his friend was crying out for them and there was nothing they could do. They all sent their thoughts to him, but it wasn't the same as being there in person to help him through this. He was alone in that shack, going through all this pain alone. How could anyone be so prejudiced against werewolves? They had no idea the hell that werewolves actually went through. None of them understood the torture of Remus's life, how it was already destroyed. None of them would care. It was only the Marauders that could help Remus through this now. They would save their friend from himself as soon as they could.

He slammed the side of his fist in to the window, staring angrily and sadly at the Whomping Willow like it was all the tree's fault. "Remus," He whispered hoarsely.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"Hey," James greeted when he got to his dorm.

Sirius looked up from the book he was reading. "Remus get there okay?"

James nodded as he sat down on his bed. "What are you reading?"

"Animagus stuff. We're going to have to get to work on that potion soon." Sirius told him.

"Did the Prewett twins talk to you?" James asked.

"Cornered us the minute we stepped into the common room. We told them the story you came up with. It got them off Remus's case, even more so when Angel got involved and scolded them for getting into other people's business." Peter explained from the cupboard where he was going through all their potions ingredients.

"What are you doing?" James asked him.

Peter closed the cupboard door and moved over to his bed. "Checking that we have all the ingredients for the potion. By the way, we do got everything we need, except for the few things we need to snatch from Slughorn's store."

"We start it as soon as we find a place to brew it." James decided.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

In the Shrieking Shack, howls of agonies subsided.

The wolf had woken up once again.

**A/N: Please Review!**


	13. Chapter 13: Face Your Fears

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. **

**A/N: Thanks for reviewing!**

**Incidentally, I had a reviewer tell me the transformation and the pain was quite creepy in the last chapter. That amused me since I thought I had downplayed it really well. **

**The Marauders Year 3**

**Chapter 13: Face Your Fears **

Tea leaves…..tea leaves….tea leaves….tea leaves….

Sirius groaned as he drained his tea. He slammed his cup on the table once he finished it. Remus was so right. Having something shoved down his throat so often has really gotten him used to it and he can do it much faster now. Though, he still despised the tea greatly.

"How much longer will we be forced to read tea leaves?" He grumbled to James.

"Oh, come on, Sirius, I think it's fun." James replied, swishing the tea leaves around in his cup. "I mean, it's a class where all we have to do is make believe what we see. It is such an easy class. Just have fun with it."

"That's fun and all, but I hate drinking this tea." Sirius said.

Remus snorted and turned around in his seat to face his friends' table. "Honestly Sirius, I think you just love complaining and whining about everything. I can predict your future from that. Sirius Black will grow up to be a compulsive complainer that lives to drive people insane cause he never shuts up with the complaining."

The Black heir spun around in his seat to face Remus while James looked on in amusement. "And you wolf-boy," Sirius said quietly. "Will be a lonely bachelor until you are in your fifties. You will simply drag yourself through your lonely life with no love while all your friends are married and have hundreds of kids and grandkiddies."

"Your prediction is good, Sirius, except for one thing." Remus replied. "I won't live to be fifty."

Sirius frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Sirius, you know what I am." Remus hissed at him very quietly so there was no chance of being overhead, though the possibility of that was very unlucky as everyone was talking loudly to their friends as they predicted the future from tea leaves. "Werewolves very rarely live passed their thirties. The statistics of one living passed thirty is very, very low. I have a feeling the only werewolf to even make it passed the thirty mark will be Greyback because he is a sadistic bastard that does fulfill his craving for human flesh and enjoys the life of being infected with lycanthropy."

"What makes you think he enjoys it?" Peter asked in disbelief. He couldn't see how anyone could possibly enjoy a life as a beast that attacked humans against their will.

"He stations himself near his target before the full moon so he can be sure to bite his target. Auror Moody once told me that he met Greyback before and he is like a savage animal now. I heard that he is trying to bite as many people as possible and drag them off to join his werewolf army. How could he not enjoy the idea of being a werewolf?" Remus growled harshly, eyes flashing with anger.

James frowned. "If he drags them to his army, why didn't he take you with him?"

Remus had to suppress a shudder at the idea of being in a werewolf army. "I don't know why. Maybe because, instead of kicking me out, my parents kept me home, still love me, and want to protect me? Or maybe I was just too young for him to want to take yet." He said, swallowing the fear he suddenly felt at the idea of joining Greyback's army.

While Remus got his fear under control, his three friends thought of what it would have been like if Remus had joined Greyback's werewolf army, instead of coming to Hogwarts. The idea of having no witty, sarcastic Remus with them was sad. The Marauders just wouldn't be the same with only three of them.

"Hey Remus, why do–" Sirius started but was cut off by Professor Amaran sweeping passed their tables.

"Enough chit-chat boys. Please get to work on your tea leaves." She whispered without looking at them as she continued on passed them.

The moment the bell chimed for the class to be over, the Marauders were up and gone, very much ahead of their classmates. Each of them slid down the ladder, instead of climbing down like a normal person.

"Why don't werewolves live pass thirty?" Sirius asked as they jogged down the stairs to their next class.

"A number of reasons, really." Remus began, looking around as he jogged down the steps. It looked like they would be alone for a while. "The transformation takes a toll on their body, first of all. Then, they can never get work. Without a job, they can't get money, and you need money to survive in this world. No money, no food. No food, you starve. Werewolves just have no way to survive in this world full of prejudice, which is another reason. You get people, like Nazik, who hate werewolves greatly, after you. They find you, they'll kill you. It's as simple as that. Even in werewolf clans, it is hard to live past thirty. Throw all those werewolves together, it is even more difficult to get food to survive and they fight with each on the full moon because they are something to attack in the werewolf's mind. They'll even kill each other, given the chance."

"There's werewolf clans?" Sirius said dubiously.

Remus nodded. "As I said, prejudice. Some families go as far as to disown members of their own family when they become a werewolf. With nowhere to go, one infected with lycanthropy would run to a clan. They are horrible as I said. They fight with each other on the night of the full moon. They don't want to, but they have no control. It gets them killed. But it is better than being at home where families will even call Dark Creature hunters on their own family."

"People actually do that?" James asked shocked and disgusted.

"Course. People are afraid of werewolves." Remus said calmly as if it didn't matter. "Not just family. If you live in a city with family that is loyal to you or by yourself and people find out about you, there is a chance they won't call the hunters. They'll just call you names, attack you, throw rocks at you, curse you, hex you, try to kill you themselves, try to run you out of the city with torches and pitchforks. There is much they can do without calling hunters. Sometimes, they can be quite creative."

A forbidding look was shared by James and Sirius behind Remus's back. They could understand Remus talking calmly about this. He has been a werewolf for years and would have, being the bookworm he is, looked up any and all information he could get on werewolves. But from some of the stuff he was saying, it….it seemed more like experience than anything.

"Remus," Peter said tentatively. "Have you…..have you ever experience some of that?"

A surprised look came of Remus's face as he looked at his friend. "Course I have, Peter. I think every werewolf experiences it at some point in his or her life."

That was too much for James and Sirius. The latter dropped his bag to the ground, grabbed Remus by the shoulders, and spun him around to face him. He shook him violently. "How?" He whispered harshly. Both he and James were shaking with rage. "How….how can you talk so….so…calmly and indifferent about it as if it doesn't matter?"

"Because it doesn't, Sirius. Tis the fate of werewolves, I'm afraid. It is just something we all have to get used to." Remus told him as he peeled his friend's hand off his shoulders. "Don't do that. I'm still healing from the full moon last week."

Sirius didn't bother to apologize. He just picked his bag off the ground and began walking again. "You shouldn't be used to it." He said angrily.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"Oh great, it's time for the psycho-freak-who-is-so-paranoid-and-rude-that-he-makes-hags-look-charming's class." Sirius grumbled as the boys made their way from the Great Hall to Defense.

"Can't you just say Defense? It would be so much easier and faster to say." Remus asked.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "That wouldn't get the full effect."

"Full effect." Remus repeated skeptically.

Sirius nodded. "Yes. By saying the psycho-freak-who–"

"Forget the name." Remus interrupted quickly.

"Fine. By saying that, people will understand that our Defense teacher is annoying and rude and is PARANOID! Honestly, he doesn't even know you and he already assumes you're evil." Sirius exclaimed angrily. He was still distracted and mad about what Remus told them earlier about werewolves, it seems.

"Hear, hear." James and Peter added.

"If he knew you, he wouldn't think you were evil." James said, grinning slightly. "I mean, what evil person makes sure we always pay for the candy we snatch from Honeydukes in the middle of the night."

"Or hides in the library because he doesn't want to get dragged into pranking or sneaking around."

"Or stops us from attacking Snivellus after he's insulted you."

"Or takes all the insults about you without a complaint."

"Or–"

"I think we all get the point, guys." Remus cut Peter off. "You don't think I'm evil, we get it. We're here." He added as he came to a stop outside the Defense classroom.

To the surprise of the Marauders when they stepped into the classroom, all the desks were stacked onto of each other and pushed against the wall. At the head of the classroom was a cabinet.

With nowhere to sit, the boys set their bags on the floor and leaned against the wall in the back of the classroom. It didn't help much, but Remus liked being in the back so he didn't have to be close to Nazik, though the professor always found a reason to come to the back and be rude to Remus and take points from him.

Just as the cabinet gave a violent shake, Nazik's office door slammed open and he came trailing out. As always, all eyes were drawn to him.

"Today will be a practical lesson." Nazik informed them, coming to a stop next to the cabinet, which shook violently again. "Who can tell me what is inside this cabinet?"

A few hands were raised, but, as he often did, Nazik ignored them all as his malicious eyes landed on Remus. He took the strangest pleasure in asking questions and having Remus answer them because he would never give him points for answering questions correctly. The only time he handed points out to Gryffindor was when other students answered questions correctly. So asking Remus was his way of making sure he didn't have to give any more points to Gryffindor.

"Mr. Lupin?"

"A boggart, sir." Remus replied immediately, grimacing as he said 'sir.'

"Good, good. Now please remind us all what a boggart is."

"A boggart is a shape-shifter that shows us our worst fear."

"And why do we have the advantage here?"

"Because there are so many of us, it won't know who to focus on and will get confused."

Nazik smiled nastily. "Well, at least you can absorb facts. That's about all you're good for."

Remus stared coolly back at him, but his friends were not so easily trained in keeping their emotions in check. James was mumbling rude things under his breath about Nazik. Peter was clenching and unclenching his fists in anger, glaring coldly at the teacher, and had one of his hands on Remus's shoulder. His nails dug into his shoulder painfully, but Remus didn't say anything. He thought this was a good way to keep Peter from doing anything. Sirius crossed his arms over his chest and start mumbling revenge plans under his breathe. None of them said anything loudly to their teacher because Remus had them promise not to. It was the worst promise they ever made to Remus.

Like usual when Nazik was picking on Remus, the Slytherins were snickering and giving sneering looks at Remus. The Gryffindor girls were staring angrily at their professor, but said nothing as they too made the promise to Remus not to say a word against him. He made them all promise it because he knew it would get them in a huge amount of trouble with him and possibly put them on his list as well.

"As we discussed last week," Nazik continued on as if he didn't just insult his favorite target. "There is a simple spell to repel a boggart. The incantation is _Riddikulus_. All of you say it."

"_Riddikulus_." The students chorused.

"Good, good." Nazik replied. "The incantation is not enough to repel a boggart though. You must push past the fear you feel when facing a boggart and make your fear into something amusing. Why is this, Mr. Snape?"

"Laughter is how a boggart is defeated, sir." Snape answered.

"Good, good, take five points for Slytherin." Nazik said.

Snape and the other Slytherins smirked at the Gryffindors.

"All of you take a few minutes to think of your worst fear and how to make it amusing then we will begin." Nazik told them.

The class fell silent as they thought about their worst fear which they would be facing soon. At some point, Remus would hear someone muttering under their breath how to make their fear funny. It was a bit distracting to him as he tried to focus on what his worst fear would be and how to make it funny.

"We are beginning." Nazik said.

Remus looked up from the floor, frowning. He wasn't ready. He wasn't even too sure of what his worst fear was yet.

"Line up single file."

Remus ended up behind his best friends and a few Gryffindor girls. All the Slytherins had lined up behind the Gryffindors. He rolled his eyes. They were probably hoping to have the class over before they had to have a go at the boggart or wanted to spend the class mocking the fears that the Gryffindors had, even if they were also afraid of those things.

"Miss. Evans, go." Nazik said.

As Lily stepped forward, Nazik flicked his wand to open the cabinet from where he was standing at the side of the classroom.

To Lily's horror, a couple and a girl a bit older than Lily fell from the cabinet all covered in blood. Their eyes were completely blank and their bodies were completely mangled. Only two people, Remus and Snape, besides Lily knew who they were. Her family.

Remus understood this fear. Lily was a muggle-born and with all the recent news of Voldemort, it was understandably why she was afraid something like this would happen. But, he noted as he stared at Lily, she was a brave one, which was obvious with the brave and stoic face she wore, despite her trembling shoulders.

"_R-Riddikulus!_" She cried, pointing her wand at the boggart.

With her cry of the spell, the scene changed to that of the family being alive with her dad dressed as a clown and doing silly stunts that made the mother and sister laugh.

"Very good," Nazik said, though not as enthusiastically as before. He too understood the trouble that was brewing outside the castle. Even he felt the fear of losing people, despite his rude and mean ways towards Remus and other dark creatures. "Ms. Danas, your turn."

Karen stepped forward, swallowing nervously as the boggart begin to spin violently. Too soon to her liking, the boggart stopped spinning and a humungous spider stepped in front of her. She stared in horror at it as it took a few steps towards her. "_Riddikulus!_" Came her cry, and the spider was suddenly floating in the air, spinning out of control, legs flaying around.

The students laughed.

"Ms. Jonan, your turn."

Mali stepped forward, wand clenched tightly in her hand as she watched the boggart spin. It landed on a headless man who was carrying his head in his hand and holding a sword in his other hand.

Remus blinked. This one confused him, though it was a bit creepy with all the blood pouring out of the neck.

Mali, hand trembling, raised her wand. "_Riddikulus!_"

The headless man started to hop on one leg and juggle his head. It was so ridiculous that the students started to laugh.

"Mr. Pettigrew, you're up!"

Taking a deep breath, Peter stepped forward. It wasn't long until the boggart was a man that looked like Peter, his dad it seemed, and Peter, who was curled up on the ground with blood all around him. It was of his dad beating Peter with a stick.

The students stared in horror at this. None of them actually thought it possible for one of their own classmates to be abused. It was such a rare occurrence.

Peter felt his grip on his wand tighten as he stared at the boggart. This no longer happened. His dad was gone and he had three awesome friends that always supported him. "_Riddikulus!_" He cried.

The scene was changed to Mr. Pettigrew hanging upside down in the air with his pants pulled down to his ankles. His boxers were completely ridiculous as they were neon pink with kittens on them.

After the darkness of Peter's fear, this was a good relief for them all as they howled with laughter.

"Mr. Black, you're up."

As Sirius and Peter passed each, the former clapped his friend on the shoulder to show his support. Peter gave him a grateful smile and nodded.

In a moment, the boggart had changed to a very familiar woman to Sirius. It was his banshee of a mother, who upon noticing him began to yell, very loudly he might add, at him.

"YOU DISGRACE OF A SON! YOU ARE A FILTHY, MUDBLOOD LOVING SON THAT HAS NO PLACE IN THIS WORLD! ALL YOU GRYFFINDORS ARE DISGUSTING BLOOD TRAITORS AND MUDBLOODS AND MUDBLOOD LOVERS THAT DESERVE TO BE TORTURED AND DESERVE ALL THE PAIN THAT YOU AND YOUR LITTLE FRIENDS GO THROUGH. THIS IS A WORLD WHERE ONLY THE PUR–"

"_RIDDIKULUS!_" Sirius shouted angrily.

To the amusement of the class, the woman, who was previously insulting Gryffindor, was dressed in all red and gold attire and her voice was missing. She tried to yell, but no sound came from her.

"Excellent. Mr. Potter, you're next."

James strolled up to the silent banshee and waited. The figure in front of him suddenly turned into a werewolf. He heard Remus give a shaky gasp behind him, causing his heart to sink. He didn't want his friend to see this. He wasn't going to understand. The werewolf gave a loud howl, causing the students, besides Remus, to jump or cower back a little.

Unbeknown to James, but known to Remus who saw it, Nazik gave him a nasty smile when he saw that his student was afraid of werewolves. Remus tried to show that he didn't care, but when his professor gave him that self-satisfied smirk, he felt his nerve sway a little. James had promised him that he wasn't afraid of him, but he was! He was truly scared of him!

"_Riddikulus!_"

The werewolf shrunk until it was the size of a puppy and started to yip, instead of howl. It ran around in circles, trying to get its tail. A few of the girls 'awwed' at the cute little wolf.

James stepped to the side and let Remus approach the puppy. As the boggart was changing form, Remus felt himself pushed back by a large hand. Still nearby, James was able to catch his friend before he fell on his butt. He looked at Professor Nazik in confusion. Why would he suddenly jump in front of Remus?

Instead of Remus's fear, they were faced with Nazik's fear which was another werewolf. He shouted, "_Riddikulus!_" and the werewolf changed into a whimpering wolf that ran into the cabinet.

Nazik spun around to face the class. "That is it for today. All of you, dismissed!"

Remus ripped himself from James and ran to the back of the classroom to grab his bag before he disappeared from the classroom. He should have known better. His best friend was scared of him! So everything has really been a lie this past year! It was stupid of him to actually believe him! His whole life has been spent being shunned. Of course his friends felt the same way. He was only fooling himself when he thought that they didn't care about what he was.

In a flurry of movements, James, Sirius, and Peter were grabbing their own bags and running after Remus before the other students could even get into movement to get their own stuff. None of them found it particularly strange that the Marauders were rushing out of the class. With Nazik as a teacher, they were always the first ones out of the class.

"Nice one, James." Sirius hissed.

James rolled his eyes. "I'm not scared of werewolves, Sirius. I'm scared for him!"

"He doesn't know that!" Peter snapped, feet slamming into the ground as he rushed down the corridor.

"I realize that. We need to talk to him." James said.

"We? _We? _You're the one that upset him!" Sirius accused, skidding around the corner at the end of the hallway.

James glared at him. "I realize that, Sirius, but he probably thinks we all feel the same way now."

"I see him." Peter said suddenly.

The boys looked straight ahead once more. Remus suddenly jumped into a classroom, slamming the door behind him. His friends skidded to a halt in front of the door and tried to open it, but found it locked.

"Remus! Open the door!" James shouted, pounding on the door as he did. "We need to talk!" He turned to his friends with an annoyed looked. "Why is it that every time we need to talk to him, he runs off like this?"

"He wouldn't be Remus if he made things easy." Sirius pointed out, feeling a bit amusement.

Rolling his eyes, James turned back to the door. "Open up, Lupin, or I'm going to blast this door down! You have to the count of three. One!"

There was a pause in which the boys waited anxiously for the door to open. When it didn't, there was an annoyed sigh and the shout of, "Two!"

"Come on, Remus," Peter pleaded. "You know he will really blow it down and then we will all get in trouble."

"Well," Sirius grumbled when the door stayed close. "He obviously likes being stubborn."

"That's it!" James screamed. "THREE, LUPIN!"

Nothing.

"BOMBARDA MAXIMA!" James shouted angrily.

Sirius and Peter stared in horror as the whole door blew completely off the wall causing an extremely loud BANG to resound around the corridor, and probably school. From the teacher's desk in the room, Remus was also staring at the door in shock and horror. "ARE YOU BLOODY INSANE?" He screamed at the top of his lungs. He jumped off the desk and stormed over to the hole in the wall.

"Well, you should have just opened the damn door." James argued.

"What is going on here?" Asked a deadly voice.

The four boys froze in everything, even their argument. As one, they all turned to look at Professor Liran (Muggle Studies teacher), shaking with rage as she looked at the four boys.

"Prof–" James started, but was cut off.

"To your head of house now." Liran hissed, pointing if the direction of the Transfiguration class.

All too soon, the four boys were standing outside of their Head of House's classroom. Liran knocked on the door and opened it once she heard the quiet, "Enter" from inside.

When McGonagall saw the four boys trailing into the room behind Liran to interrupt her seventh year class of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, she didn't feel all that surprised. It was always those fours. She pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing in annoyance. Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm. "What did they do this time, Linda?" She asked regretfully.

"They purposefully blew a wall up." Liran said, frowning.

McGonagall blinked and turned to the boys. "Blew up a wall? That is certainly a new one."

"Wait just a minute." Remus said angrily. "I had nothing to do with this!"

"Nothing to do with it?" Sirius growled. "If it wasn't for you running away, going into that classroom, and locking the door, James wouldn't have blown it up!"

Remus smacked his forehead. "Are you guys really that idiotic? There is a simple unlocking charm that you two idiots could have used!"

"Just give it up, Remus. If I recall, we were in a similar situation in first year." Peter told Remus.

"And what does that mean?" McGonagall growled.

"We blew our dorm door down." James said sheepishly.

The seventh years were finding it hard not to laugh at the banter. The Marauders were so funny when they were having arguments like this.

"Why?" McGonagall demanded.

"Remus got annoyed with Sirius's and James's teasing, ran ahead of us, and locked us out of the dorm." Peter told her, fighting with difficulty against the smile he wanted to give.

McGonagall frowned. "I'm seeing the pattern here. Why did I not hear about this before now?"

"Well, ma'am, a Prefect came and yelled at us about the noise, but Sirius started mocking him and got detention. The Prefect was very mad, repaired our door, and left. He was probably so mad that he didn't come tell you about the incident because he wanted to calm down first, but by the time he calmed down, he had forgotten why he was mad and along with that, he forgot the whole blowing the door off the hinges incident which is why he never told you about it." Remus explained, smiling at his teacher.

McGonagall's eye twitched slightly. "Mr. Lupin, it was a rhetorical question."

James blinked. "Rhetorical? What's that?"

"Mr. Pot–"

"NO!" Remus yelled, glaring at his friends. "No! We already went over this in our second year. You are not doing that again, especially since I know you three idiots know perfectly well what a rhetorical question is."

"But it was so fun." Sirius whined.

"If you don't want to spend the next week unconscious in the Hospital Wing, you'll shut the hell up." Remus snarled.

"Well," Sirius said offended, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at the wall. "You sure are violent today."

"Ms. Jackson, will you please go get me a headache remedy from Madam Pomfrey?" Professor McGonagall asked the Head Girl.

"Yes ma'am." Angel said.

McGonagall turned her glare to her third year lions. "Office."

Grumbling, the boys marched to the back of the class to get to the staircase that led to her office. The moment the door closed behind them, McGonagall turned back to her class to finish her lecture and get the class working on the spell they were learning today before she went to lecture her lions.

Up in a certain Animagus's classroom, the Marauders were sitting in a stony silence. All their jokes were gone. Remus was refusing to look at his friends and shifting uncomfortably on the chair he was sitting on. Sirius was sitting in McGonagall's chair behind her desk and going through her drawers, something that Remus would normally scold him for if he wasn't upset about James being scared of him. James was leaning against the desk, arms crossed in front of him, while Peter was sitting in front of the fireplace, looking between Remus and James nervously.

Right now, they were not the Marauders. They were not putting a show on for anyone anymore. Right now, they were four best friends facing yet another difficult situation in their friendship. They seemed to have a lot of these in their little group of such close-knit friends.

"Re–"

"If I scare you so much, you should have just said so." Remus interrupted James. "I'll see if I can get a room outside of the dorm so you don't have to share a room with me anymore."

"No!" James snapped, standing up straight so fast. His arms flew to his sides as he stood and knocked a glass figurine off the desk. There was a loud SMASH as it hit the ground and shuttered into a million pieces.

All four boys whipped around to face the office door. Sirius snapped the desk drawer shut. "Do you think she heard that?"

"She's got cat ears! Of course she heard." James whispered harshly.

"Actually she's only got cat ears when she is transformed." Remus corrected, but was ignored as Sirius moved over to the office door.

Sirius opened the door and looked down at the class. McGonagall had started to move to the steps, but stopped when Sirius opened the door and glared up at him. "Uh….did you hear that, ma'am?"

"What was it?" McGonagall demanded.

"_Reparo_," Remus's voice came from the office. A moment later, Remus was standing in the doorway next to Sirius. "It was nothing that couldn't be fixed, Professor. James just got a bit too," He stopped and looked back into the office at James, who still looked frustrated. "Agitated. Sorry."

James grabbed Remus by the back of his robe and pulled him out of the doorway so he could take his spot and speak to his teacher. "I know you want to lecture us and give us a punishment, but could it wait a moment. We're commandeering this office for a moment, Professor. Bye!"

With those parting words, James and Sirius slammed the office door shut. While the latter locked it with a few simple spells that McGonagall could easily undo, James turned to face a gaping Peter and an incredulous Remus. "You cannot be serious! You can't just claim someone's office as your own!"

James blinked at his friends as if he said something stupid. "But Remus, I just did."

Remus groaned. "I'm saying that it isn't socially acceptable to commandeer something that isn't yours."

"But we need to talk about this whole always running away without getting an explanation thing you do." James replied with a steely glint in his eyes that send Remus was not escaping this time.

**A/N: Please Review!**


	14. Chapter 14: Abandonment Issues

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. **

**A/N: Thanks for reviewing!**

**And, I am so sorry that I have not been updating. To those who say they are not going to continue reading my story if I don't update soon, go screw yourself. I have a lot of other stories to write. I have a life outside of Fanfiction. I have a nephew that I babysit at least twice a week. And I am going back to college in a few weeks and my schedule is crazy this year. I am FREAKING busy!**

**The Marauders Year 3**

**Chapter 14: Abandonment Issues**

"But we need to talk about this whole always running-away-without-getting-an-explanation thing you do." James replied with a steely glint in his eyes that said Remus was not escaping this time.

"Especially since we always manage to corner him in the end and explain it to him." Sirius added with a grin.

Remus rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Well, since I'm stuck here anyway…"

"Right!" James declared and pointed a finger at Remus. "I am not scared of you. You misunderstood my boggart."

"It seemed pretty clear to me." Remus retorted stubbornly.

James rolled his eyes. "And that is where you are wrong. You were only looking at the surface of my fear, but you didn't interpret it correctly. I don't fear you, but I am scared for you. I am afraid that you might die one of these full moons."

"Oh." Remus said blankly.

"Oh?" James echoed before shorting a glare at Remus. "After all that and the fact that we are going to get detention, and that's all you say?"

Remus blinked, but grinned. "Okay. It is really socially unacceptable to commandeer something that isn't yours."

"Forget that!" James cried, throwing his hands into the air. He couldn't believe Remus was still on about the whole stealing McGonagall's office. That wasn't even the important thing here!

"Kind of hard to do since you probably made Professor McGonagall even angrier." Remus pointed out.

Sirius snorted. "That is all that Remus cares about. Detention."

"I have better things to do then spend my evening in detention." Remus argued, shooting an annoyed glare at Sirius. "Especially for something you idiots did."

"It matters not!" James declared dramatically. "We are Marauders! If one of us goes down, we all go down together! That is the way of the Marauders!"

The werewolf blinked before he smirked. "So what are you high on?"

The other boy grinned. "Life." He answered, causing Remus to roll his eyes. What a typical James answer.

"Didn't you say once before that if one of us got caught, we don't rat the others out?" Remus asked.

James looked confused for a moment before blushing. "Well, this time we were all caught together so we must go down together!"

Before the boys could go any farther, they heard a click and turned to see McGonagall entering the office as she stored her wand away. Oh, great, the warden had arrived!

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"Can you believe it? Two weeks of detention just for blowing down a door?!" Sirius grumbled.

"It's called vandalism!" Remus snapped at him as he jumped onto his bed facedown. "I didn't even do anything and I still got detention."

"Well, seeing as you're the one who ran into the classroom and locked the door, you did do something." James pointed, sitting on his trunk as he kicked his shoes off.

Remus turned his head on his pillow to glare at James. "You didn't have to follow me."

"I couldn't let you wallow in sorrow when there was nothing to be upset about." James argued, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, it's like you want us to despise you for it."

As soon as he said these words, James felt himself frowning. If there was one thing that he noticed about his werewolf friend, it was that he could be really self-deprecating at times. It didn't take a genius to realize why. Remus had been hurt too many times because of what he was so he was starting to believe it himself. He was starting to believe he was nothing and didn't deserve to be happy or have friends.

For a moment, Remus just stared at James, frowning. Of course he didn't want to be hated because he was a werewolf, but that was what he used to. He was used to being hated, facing insults, being beaten for what he was. He didn't even know how to handle friends who didn't care about his curse and continued to stand by his side. It was something so unreal, like a wonderful, never ending dream. But he knew dreams, no matter how wonderful they seem, never lasted. Dreams would eventually turn into nightmares. And that was what he was waiting for, the moment that his friends realized how stupid they were being and banished him.

Sighing, Remus turned his head back into his pillow. "You know that's not what I want." His muffled voice said.

"Then stop complaining."

Remus blinked against his pillow. With darkness in his eyes from the pillow, he no longer saw his friends, but their Defense class. He saw Nazik jumping in front of him and stopping him from facing the boggart. What he couldn't understand was why Nazik stopped him from facing the boggart? The more he thought about it, the more he didn't understand. His fear would have given something away or made it more clear that he was a werewolf. Someone was sure to put the pieces together so why did Nazik stop him and ruin his chance of getting the information out? Remus absolutely refused to believe he did it out of the kindness of his heart. Anyone he mentioned this too would agree with him there. Just what the hell was Nazik playing out? Was he trying to keep him from learning the spell and put him behind on his training?

It was certainly seemed more plausible then any other idea he had.

Nazik trying to restrain his training to ruin him.

Oh, hell no. He was going to learn this damn spell. But before he could do that he needed a boggart. He needed to get to the only boggart he knew about, but that was in Nazik's classroom. It would be a pretty stupid idea to just wander into his classroom to play with a boggart when Nazik could hear him.

"I'm going to break into Nazik's classroom." Remus said, though his voice was muffled by his pillow.

THUD!

Remus turned his head to see where the noise had come from and was surprised to see Sirius lying ungracefully half on the ground with his legs tangled in the curtains of his bed and lying sprawled out on his bed. Sirius didn't even seem to notice his predicament as he stared incredulously at Remus in shock, though it looked pretty hilarious to Remus considering his friend's face was upside down.

"You really shouldn't talk with your face in your pillow, Rems. For one crazy second I thought I heard you say you were going to break into Nazik's classroom." Sirius said.

Remus pushed himself up onto his knees, frowning. "You didn't mishear, Sirius. That is what I said."

"Are you BLOODY–" Sirius ripped his legs free of the curtains, which resulted in ripping the curtains off the bed but he didn't pay it any attention. He twisted his body around and sprung to his feet and stared at Remus. "INSANE?"

"We all knew Remus was crazy, but I guess we really didn't realize how crazy." Peter mumbled to James, but he was staring in horror at Remus.

James nodded, also staring at Remus. "Remus, let's be sensible. Nazik despises you. It's not a wise idea to break into his classroom. Why would you even want to go back there? Isn't suffering in that class twice a week enough?"

A steely glint entered Remus's eyes as he stared from Sirius to James to Peter and back to Sirius. "What happened to Marauders break the rules and are so daring that they aren't afraid of things like this?"

"This and our crazy antics are two different things!" Sirius shouted, leaping over to Remus. He grabbed his friend by his shoulders and shook him violently. "Nazik despises you! He's an ex-Dark Creature Hunter! Breaking into his classroom is just asking for him to maim you. It might be hard for you to understand, Remus, but we don't want you dead!"

"I'm going to his classroom tonight." Remus replied stubbornly, bushing Sirius's hands off of him. "I need to face that boggart."

"Are you freaking insane?" Sirius asked.

"This is about the bloody boggart?" Peter asked disbelievingly, brows furrowed.

Remus nodded. "I need to see what my greatest fear is."

Peter looked at James, frowning. "The boy has clearly lost his mind."

"His greatest fear should be what Nazik will do to him if he catches him." James hissed at Peter.

"Can we all just shut up and think rationally about this?" Sirius yelled frantically, turning wild eyes to James and Peter then back at Remus.

Three pairs of eyes stared at him blankly. Noticing the stares, Sirius scowled. "What?"

"Since when do you ever want to think rationally? You just charge right in." Remus replied.

Sirius's scowl darkened. "Remus, you are freaking losing yourself to your anger and hatred of Nazik. Someone has to think rationally now."

"I would have voted James or Peter to be the new rational one long before I ever picked you." Remus told him.

Sirius nodded. "I know, right? No one would ever think of me as ever being rational. It just isn't in my blood to be calm and think things thro–What the hell am I doing? We're discussing your crazy ass plan of sneaking into Nazik's classroom to play with a boggart."

"I'm going whether you lot help me get there or not." Remus said, grinning. "Tonight after curfew."

"Rems wants to break curfew." James echoed, staring at his friend in shock. He slowly turned his head to look at Peter with blank eyes. "Rems is the one suggesting we break curfew."

"Emergency Marauders meeting!" Sirius declared suddenly. "Remus, you stay there while I talk to the others." He gave Remus a stare that lasted about a minute before he moved over to James's side of the room where Peter and James were.

"Remus has lost it." Peter whispered frantically when Sirius joined them.

James nodded, glancing over his shoulder at their friend who was sitting on his bed, staring at them. Oh, God, his werewolf hearing, he could hear them! Looking back at the other two, James frowned. "Let's indulge him in this crazy idea. He said he's going with or without us. At least if we're there, Nazik can't kill him with witnesses there."

"Or he'll kill us all." Sirius pointed out. "We have two weeks of detention to go still. We can't get anymore."

"Or he'll take all our house points away." Peter said with a grimace. This was getting much worse then any of them thought. If Remus was suggesting crazy things like this, he really was mad and upset with Nazik. "We've already lost so many because of his hatred for Remus."

"Then we'll just make sure not to get caught." James said. "In fact, I say one of us goes with Remus to Nazik's class while the other two cause an explosion or something near the classroom to get Nazik's attention."

"Perfect!" Remus declared, jumping off his bed and grinning at his friends.

"What the–" Sirius said shock, shooting his friend a look. "Damn it. Forgot about the blasted werewolf hearing." He looked back at James and Peter with a grave look. "It's so inconvenient for us." He looked back at Remus, frowning. "We haven't agreed to anything." Sirius paused, blinking, before he turned his to the ceiling. "My God, I can't believe I am the one being responsible now." He whipped his head down to James. "I'll go along with this crazy plan if it will get Remus back to normal. I can't be the rational one anymore!"

Two hours later, a twitching Sirius stood by Remus in the middle of Nazik's classroom. "I can't believe I agreed for us to do this."

Remus looked at him with a smirk. "Where's that reckless Marauder daring you are always going on about?"

"Nazik hates you." Sirius hissed at Remus. "If he catches us in here, we're dead."

Remus rolled his eyes. "That's why James and Peter are distracting him."

"How did we even change roles?" Sirius grumbled as he moved closer to the cabinet and pulled his wand out. "Are you sure you want–"

"If you continue to ask me that, I'm going to hex you, Sirius." Remus snapped.

Black eyes stared at Remus in disbelief for a moment before Sirius shook his head and flicked his wand and mumbled a spell under his breathe to open the cabinet. He really hoped Remus would go back to normal after this.

What stepped out was something that neither of the boys was expecting.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

James quickly, but quietly ran down the hall with Peter by his side. Without a look over his shoulder, he launched another dung bomb over it without taking his eyes off the path in front of him. They were approaching an intersection ahead of them. Taking a chance, James grabbed Peter's arm and dragged him right before stopping and slamming his back against the wall.

"This is completely insane." Peter hissed.

"I know." James replied, frowning. When he said he and Peter would make a distraction to give Remus and Sirius time in the classroom, he didn't expect to drag Nazik out with noise and smell and then make sure he chased them all over the school. Because it meant keeping his attention and risk getting caught and in a serious amount of trouble. "When this is over, we have to knock some sense back into Remus."

"We should have done that instead of going through with this crazy plan." Peter retorted as he fished fireworks out of his pockets and handed them to James.

"Remus was doing this with or without us. Would you rather have us tie him to his bed overnight so he didn't do anything stupid?" James asked as he took the fireworks.

There was a moment of silence in which James lit the fireworks with some water and swung them around the corner they were standing by. Almost immediately after being tossed, the corridor was lit up with flashing lights that whizzed and buzzed and exploded loudly. Neither of the boys stuck around for the show though. They both took off running down the corridor again with the lights flashing in the corner of their eyes.

"Actually," Peter wheezed. "I would have much preferred that."

"I'll be sure to consider that choice more thoroughly next time." James snapped sarcastically. "Now, turn left."

*Y*E*A*R*3*

Out of the cabinet walked an exact copy of Sirius Black. Remus stared at the boggart then at his friend with wide eyes. His worst fear was one of his best friends? No, that wasn't right. It was supposed to be something to do with his transformation. He was scared of his transformation and life as a werewolf! Not this!

The Boggart Sirius stepped closer to Remus, wearing a nasty sneer and gripping his wand tightly in his hand. "Friends?" He sneered, voice full of hatred. "Why would I ever be friends with a disgusting creature like you? With your tainted blood and curse, you're one of the first that should be killed. Killed before you can kill someone. Killed before you can turn someone else."

Remus stared at the Boggart Sirius with wide eyes, wand trembling in his hands. It made sense now. For the first time ever, he had friends who didn't abandon him because of his curse, but Remus was scared that they would abandon him one day. He was scared they would see the true horror of his curse and leave him.

"REMUS!" Sirius shouted. "It isn't real. Don't listen to it! You know me. I would never say anything like that. You're my best friend!"

Remus raised his wand, but had no idea of what to do to make this funny. "_Riddikulus!_"

Instead of turning into something funny, the boggart changed into a smirking James who had his wand raised and pointed between Remus's eyes.

Someone behind the Boggart James, Remus heard Sirius groan, but barely registered it as he stared fearfully at James.

"All werewolves deserve death. They are vile monsters who are a menace to our world. Dumbledore was a fool and idiot to let a _monster _like you into our school Just go and k–"

Sirius crossed his arms and held his arms tightly as he watched.

"_Riddikulus!_" Remus cried before James could continue on. He didn't want to hear James finish that sentence. It would probably cause his heart to freeze.

Once again the boggart changed, but not into something funny. It changed into a sinister grinning Peter.

"Come on, Remus. I thought you were good at Defense. Think of something funny, not more dark thoughts." Sirius urged on, glancing worriedly at the door. This was taking much too long. He looked back at the Boggart Peter and grimaced. An evil grin like that did not look right on Peter's face.

"It's best to put you down right now before you do any harm to any one of us." Peter sneered. "I can't believe I've been forced to share a dorm with such a horrible monster."

'_No! Don't listen. Don't listen. They are your friends. They don't care that I am a werewolf!' _Remus thought as he raised his wand at the Boggart Peter.

"Sirius Black!"

Sirius whipped his two-way mirror out and smiled faintly at James in it.

"We just left Nazik with a mess, but I don't know how long it will hold his attention. You should get out of there now." James said quickly, only glancing over his shoulder once. "We're on our way back to the dorm. Meet us there."

"_Riddikulus!_" Remus cried once more.

Sirius quickly glanced up from the mirror to see the Boggart Peter's clothes suddenly turn into a pink, sparkling ballerina's costume and start twirling on his tiptoes. It didn't even take a minute to process in Sirius's mind. The scene in front of him was simply too hilarious. He started laughing loudly with Remus joining in a split-second late.

"Sirius?" James asked confused through the mirror. "What is it?"

The Black heir couldn't reply even if he wanted to because he was laughing so hard. The only thing he could do was turn the mirror to what he and Remus were seeing.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

Of all the things that James expected to see, a ballerina Peter was not one of them. It was just lucky for him that he and Peter had just reached the Fat Lady when Sirius turned the mirror. Peter murmured the password while James stared at the Peter in the mirror in shock, which soon turned into loud, uncontrollable laughter. James stumbled forward and fell through the portrait hole.

Peter turned around to give his friend a look of confusion. "James?"

James looked briefly up at Peter then down at the mirror where the Boggart Peter began to leap around the room and land on his toes to do more spins and he lost it again. Tears began to run down his face and he was clutching his side and rolling around on the ground.

Peter had never felt so confused in his life.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"A-as funny as this is," Sirius said, tears straining his cheeks and a grin trying to fight its way on his face. "Nazik will probably be back soon. We need to get out of here."

From his bag, he pulled out the invisibility cloak while Remus sent the Boggart back into the cabinet. Sirius threw the cloak over him and Remus and pulled them over to the classroom door.

"Uh, Sirius," Remus said, pulling Sirius to a stop. "How are we supposed to know if Nazik is in this corridor or not?"

Sirius gave his friend a dry look. "I blame you if we're caught. Use your enhanced hearing, wolf boy."

Giving his friend a scowl, Remus listened carefully for any sound in the hallway. Though it was a bit difficult because of the thick door and the fact that it wasn't near the full moon so his hearing wasn't as good as it was then, Remus still heard nothing. He just prayed he was right so Sirius didn't murder him in his sleep. "It's clear, _dog boy_." He whispered.

Sirius scowled at him. "You better be right." Is all Sirius said in reply before he was pulling the door open and stepping into the hall.

"Oh, what is this?" Remus looked around. He shot his friend a smirk. "Look who was right."

"Well," Sirius drawled. "At least I don't have abandonment issues!"

"A-Abandonment Issues?!" Remus cried. "I d–"

Sirius slapped a hand over Remus's mouth and dragged him down the hall.

After taking a **NICE LONG** detour because of the mess James and Peter made and to avoid running into Nazik, Sirius and Remus made it safely back to the sleeping Fat Lady. Sirius ripped the cloak off of them and stuffed it into his bag while Remus woke a very miffed Fat Lady and gave her the password.

"Welcome back, chaps! Was the operation a success?" A very cheerful James yelled when the last two Marauders entered their room.

A big grin broke out onto Sirius's face. "You know it was." And when Sirius's eyes moved to look at Peter then back to James's eyes, both boys fell to the ground, laughing hysterically.

I don't get it. What's wrong with me?" Peter said confused. He looked down at himself and when he didn't see anything, he looked to Remus for the answer since he was the only one not laughing like a lunatic.

But even Remus wasn't able to keep a straight face. He was biting his lip and knew if he opened his mouth, the words he wanted to say would be lost and replaced by his own laughter. So instead, he just shook his head.

The next day when three of the four Marauders started laughing hysterically whenever they looked at Peter, everyone, including Peter, had to wonder what was so funny and if they should call an insane asylum for them.

**A/N: Please Review! **


	15. Chapter 15: Messing With Frank

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. **

**A/N: By the way, I feel the need to say this, FanFictionLover13 has taken my Marauders Year stories and is going to have Hogwarts read them for a story, kind of like how there are stories where they read about Harry's life. If you are interested in something like that, here's the link:** www .fanfiction s/9563285/1/ Reading-the- Marauders-Years

**Delete the spaces and.(n)(e)(t) /put in it. Delete the spaces and ()**

**Thanks for reviewing!**

**The Marauders Year 3**

**Chapter 15: Messing With Frank**

Twin grins. Two blinding very similar grins were what met the Marauders at breakfast the day of the first Hogsmeade trip in October.

"You two really have nothing better to do then bug us, do you?" Remus asked dryly as he sat down at the table and started to fill his plate while also looking up and down the table.

And it was true.

Ever since his full moon in September, Fabian and Gideon have been bothering the Marauders more often. Of course the Marauders knew why and what they wanted to know, but the twins didn't know that and that was the way they were going to keep it.

It was best to always stay one step ahead of the enemy after all.

Not that the twins were enemies. Just two very nosy seventh years.

Not that James, Sirius, and Peter were any better in their second year.

"We heard that a certain sarcastic third year is the new commentator this year for the Quidditch games." Fabian said, ignoring Remus's question.

"Really? Who is it?" Remus asked curiously, earning five blank stares in reply. "What?"

"Dimwit." Sirius muttered.

"I thought he was the smart one." Gideon said dryly.

Remus rolled his eyes and looked up from his French toast. "Look, I know you are referring to me, but I never bloody agreed to anything. Perhaps you should tell Ness that before Professor McGonagall gets annoyed that she is missing a commentator at the first game."

Fabian and Gideon shared a look, shaking their heads before looking back at the younger boy. "Remus, Remus, Remus." They said together.

"If you don't show up for the game…"

"And don't have a good reason for missing it…"

"You will be in a lot of trouble…"

"And not just with McGonagall…"

"But with us too."

Remus looked from one twin to the other, wearing an annoyed frown. "I hate it when you two do that." He said before looking at the Great Hall doors.

Ignoring Remus's comment, James butted in. "Besides, we won't let you refuse either." He and Sirius grinned madly at him.

"We want to see Minnie's face when she hears the oh-so-naughty words from the so-called "good marauder" that everyone believes you are." Sirius added before he frowned. "Honestly, how can anyone think you're the good ones? Especially considering it was your idea to break into Nazik's class."

"I told you!" Remus said exasperated, looking back at his black haired friends with an amused frown. "That was a moment of crazed madness on my part. I'm passed it. I'm all better now!"

"Just a moment of crazed madness?" Peter said incredulously. "Mate, you have always been insane. It's just been getting much worse faster since Nazik's arrival."

None of the Marauders noticed the gaping looks that Gideon and Fabian were giving them, too intent on their conversation as they were.

"You guys did WHAT?" Gideon shouted, earning a few weird looks from the students around the group. He shot a glare at them all to get them to turn away.

Four annoyed stares turned to the twins. "Must you yell?" James grumbled.

"Are you four idiots?" Fabian hissed, keeping his voice down so no one would overhear them. "What are you doing breaking into Naziki's class? He already hates Remus enough as it. If he caught you breaking into his classroom…" He trailed off, frowning darkly. "I don't even want to imagine."

Sirius cast a look at James and Peter, grimacing along with them. "We don't either. Remus just needed to go back to the class."

"And you indulged him?" Gideon said incredulous.

"Hey! He is right here!" Remus butted in, leaning forward on the table to look passed Sirius and glare at Gideon. "And Remus does not appreciate being talked about as if he is not around."

"Why is Remus talking in third person?" Fabian asked.

The werewolf paused for a moment, sitting back down as he thought that over with a frown. His friends and the twins watched him silently as he thought, each of them wearing an amused smirk or grins.

Remus looked back up at them. "Because I can."

"Five minutes." Gideon said blankly.

"You sat there thinking for five minutes." Fabian said.

"And that's what you come up with?!" The twins cried together.

Remus stuck his tongue out at them. "What would be your reason then?"

"Fabian thinks his reason would be because it's fun." Fabian replied.

"Gideon would have to agree." Gideon replied.

"Remus does not believe that is a much better excuse then his." Remus retorted before looking around the table again. Spotting his target, he smirked and stood up. "And now if you don't mind, I have a plan to put into motion."

"What plan?" James asked confused as he watched Remus approach a group of girls at the table. He leaned down on the table, blocking the girl that he was talking to. "And why are we not involved in it?"

*Y*E*A*R*3*

Remus leaned down on the table, smiling at Alice and her friends. Alice was a pretty girl dressed in faded blue jeans, a semi-tight black tank top, and a pink jacket. She had black hair that was done in light curls then pulled into a ponytail. "Ello." He greeted with a grin. "Alice, you ready?"

Smiling, Alice nodded and stood up. She waved to her friends, who grinned in reply as she left with Remus, who turned to give them a strange look as he and Alice left. "What was that about?" He asked.

Alice just grinned in reply. She grabbed Remus's hand and pulled him along with her. "So, where are you taking me, Remus?" She asked teasingly.

"Oh, here and there and everywhere." Remus replied, smiling softly. He noticed Frank sitting at the table as he and Alice walked passed. He gave a short wave to the shocked Prefect before turning his attention back to Alice. "Why can't you just ask him out yourself instead of waiting for him to ask you?"

"Our date hasn't even begun yet and you're already asking about another boy?" Alice asked, giving the younger boy a smirk.

"Hey, I think it's a fair question." Remus replied, grinning as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

Laughing, Alice led Remus down to Hogsmeade, only stopping briefly to get passed Filch and McGonagall. "Did you tell your friends what you were doing today?"

Remus froze in the path for a moment before smacking his forehead. "I had no plans to tell them of my plans today, but I did forget to tell them I wasn't coming to Hogsmeade with them today."

"How could you forget that?" Alice asked.

"Argh," Remus rubbed his temples before grabbing Alice's hand and dragging her along the path. "Gideon and Fabian distracted us. It doesn't matter. Where would you like to go first?"

Smiling brightly, Alice took over the dragging and pulled Remus through the village until they got to Honeydukes.

"Fancy candy?" Remus asked amused as he entered the store.

"Oh, you know it." Alice said. "Chocolate is a girl's best friend when she is upset. It's always best to have a bit on you since you never know when you'll get upset."

"Oh, I know. I have a stash hidden in my dorm. Hidden because I don't trust my friends not to touch it." Remus replied, picking up a chocolate frog and bouncing it in his hand.

Alice nodded. "I know what you mean. All the girls in my dorm have chocolate hidden because we don't trust each other not to touch if we are upset."

"You should tell my friends that. They think it's wrong to like it sooo much." Remus replied, grinning as he looked at all the colorful sweets around. "Do you want anything?"

Alice looked at him with bright, happy eyes. Remus twitched and hoped she remembered that he only had so much money left over from his birthday and from what he withdrew from Gringotts.

When the two finally left Honeydukes half an hour later, it was with a bag of chocolate and other sweets each. The two chatted happily with each other, holding hands as they walked down the road as Alice led them to their next stop.

"Tomes and Scrolls?" Remus asked amused as he pushed the door to the store open and held it open for Alice. "I didn't think you would want to come to a bookstore for a date."

"Well, I know you like books." Alice said nicely.

Remus raised a brow, unconvinced. "And the real reason?"

Chuckling, Alice pulled Remus behind a bookshelf to the side of the store. She leaned around it with Remus and pointed at the door of the shop. They stood there for a few moments before the door opened, bell chiming above it, and an annoyed looking Frank walked in with some friends.

"You are being quite cruel." Remus whispered.

"This was your idea." Alice retorted before grabbing his hand and pulling him down the aisle they were in. "Anyway, let's look at some books."

"Don't need too." Remus said, pulling Alice to a stop with a grin in place. He pointed at the book he saw on the shelf as they were walking passed it.

After reading the title, Alice raised a brow and smirked down at Remus. "I believe that is a prankster book."

"Of course." Remus replied. "After all, if you are going to put a bookstore in Hogsmeade where students visit, you should have something to grab everyone's attention."

"And here I thought you were the studious Marauder." Alice teased.

"Studious, but I also like to have fun." Remus replied, grabbing the book off the shelf.

""Master of Pranks 101," really?" Alice asked.

"Yeah," Remus looked around as if to make sure they were alone, then motioned to Alice to lean down to give him her ear. "Keep it a secret." He whispered, smirking. "But I really love pranks."

Laughing, Alice stood up and shook her head. "Sorry, but I think your secret is already out."

"What?" Remus asked in mock offense and surprise. "It is?" He gasped. "James and Sirius! I bet it was them! I should have known!"

Alice laughed loudly as Remus flipped the book he was holding over to read the summary.

"What's it about?" Alice asked.

"Teaching pranksters how to become masters of pranks and even detailing a few awesome pranks and giving some spells that would work wonders in pranks." Remus replied.

"Sounds like the perfect thing for the Marauders." Alice said.

Remus laughed, but he put the book back. "I can't help but feel that all the Marauders will be searched when they return to the castle today. I shouldn't have anything incriminating on me."

"I wouldn't be surprised if you were." Alice replied with a smirk. "In fact, I have it on good intel that you will be searched."

"Oh?" Remus mocked, raising a brow. "Intel? And who is your source?"

"You are." Alice teased.

Rolling his eyes, Remus smiled and the two walked around the store, stopping here and there to look at books and laugh at them. Neither of them seemed to notice the glare burning into their backs from a certain Prefect that saw them standing, a bit too close for his liking, in front of a section about charms.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"Hey, wait a minute!" James cried, ducking behind a wall and pulling Sirius and Peter with him. He peeked out from the wall, eyes wide in shock.

"What? What? What?" Sirius said eagerly, leaning on James's back to look over him. "What are we do–" He froze, mouth dropping open in shock at the sight in front of him. "I-Is that Remus? And is he with an older woman?"

"WHAT?" Peter shouted, trying to look out of the alley, but was shoved back by James's and Sirius's hands. "Hey!"

Sirius and James turned to him with annoyed looks and hissed, "Shut it." Then they turned back to look back out.

"Hey, isn't that Alice Clienak, our Fifth Year Prefect?" Sirius asked softly. "WHAT is Remus doing with her? I thought she was dating Frank?" He threw his hands into the air in disbelief and turned away from the scene. "I no longer know what is going on in this world!" He cried. "It is all out of wack!"

"As hard as it may be to believe," James said, keeping his eyes trained on the two that were window shopping and laughing together. "But I think they are on a date."

Sirius leaned on James's back again and looked out. His eyes looked all around the area and landed on a certain Prefect. "Look, it's Frank and boy does he looked annoyed or what?" Sirius whispered, pointing to where their other Fifth Year Prefect was. He was with some friends, but was paying no attention to them. He had his arms crossed and was glaring at Remus's back.

"What is Remus playing at?" Peter muttered. "We all know Frank and Alice like each other."

"So this is why Remus ditched us without explanation." Sirius grumbled. "In fact, there is still no explanation. Why is he on a date with Alice?"

"Want to follow them?" James asked, grinning mischievously.

Two mischievous grins were the reply.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

Alice watched amused as Remus chatted happily with Madam Rosmerta as he waited for her to get his butterbeers. Madam Rosmerta seemed to be enjoying their conversation because she ignored his order and served other people for a while as she talked to the boy.

Looking away from the scene, Alice looked around the pub. It was pretty busy, though it usually was. The Three Broomsticks was a popular place to go to, for students and adults. At one of the booths near her table, she saw Frank and his friends. Frank noticed her looking so she smiled and waved at him briefly before looking back at Remus, but she noticed he was still talking to Madam Rosmerta.

When she looked back at Frank, he wasn't looking at her this time. This time he was staring at Remus with a frown while one of his friends said something to him while motioning to her then to Remus.

Smirking, Alice looked away and looked at the other side of the pub. His eyes were immediately drawn to the big figure that was Hagrid, then to the small figures talking with him: James, Sirius, and Peter.

Before Alice could continue her observations, Remus was back and putting a drink in front of her. "Here you go, Alice. Sorry that took so long."

The girl looked up, smiling at her friend as he sat down. "You know Madam Rosmerta already?"

Remus stared at her blankly for a moment before taking a long drink of his butterbeer. When he was done, he slammed his glass on the table and grinned at Alice. "I cannot answer that for I do not wish to tell a Prefect anything incriminating."

Alice giggled. "Oh, Remus," She leaned across the table and grabbed his hand. When he looked confused, she tilted her head slightly to the side. Slowly, Remus looked over and saw Frank there with his friends, glaring at him. Understanding, Remus looked back at Alice and put his free hand on top of hers. "You know I would never turn you in. I like you too much."

"Do you like me enough to make sure Frank doesn't smother me in my sleep tonight?" Remus asked with a teasing grin.

The Prefect smirked. "Oh, Remus, I don't think anyone would dare entered the Marauders' lair ever again. No one is that insane."

Remus grinned. "Oh, that's good then. I can sleep peacefully tonight now."

"And if you are killed, your friends will avenge you." Alice nodded towards where the boys were with Hagrid.

Remus didn't even look over there as he rolled his eyes. "They have been stalking us for a while now."

"Really? I never noticed." Alice said surprised, grabbing her mug and holding it gently in her hands.

The younger boy shrugged and picked up his mug. "I'm just observant." He said, but didn't add that he noticed them because of his enhanced senses. His friends would have to remember he had those senses if they ever wanted to stalk or sneak up on him again.

"I'm surprised you didn't try to get rid of them." Alice replied.

"I'm not ashamed of anything." Remus said, grinning as he took another long drink. "I'm more surprised they haven't done anything. I mean, really? No mischief?"

"Maybe they decided to behave today." Alice suggested.

Remus gave her a dry look.

"Right, sorry, they never behave." Alice replied, smiling brightly.

"That's right." Remus nodded. "I don't understand what they are playing at."

*Y*E*A*R*3*

James and Peter waved bye to Hagrid while Sirius twisted around in his seat to look over at their prey with a smirk.

"Man," Sirius snickered. "Look at Frank."

James dropped his hand and looked over at where Frank was sitting and gave a low whistle. "I didn't think it was possible for Frank to look that angry. What do you bet that he is thinking of ways to maul Remus to get him out of that seat?"

"I'm not betting anything." Sirius snorted.

"What was Remus playing at when he decided to go out with Alice when he knew Frank has a crush on her?" Peter asked.

"Was he thinking?" Sirius asked, frowning. "Cause lately I don't think he has been thinking about the consequences of things because he is so frustrated with Nazik."

"Well, he hasn't been as bad as when he decided to break into Nazik's class." James muttered.

"You can say that again. He's been ignoring our mischief making ways for weeks by disappearing so much lately. And when we finally get a chance to hang with him today, he runs off to be with Alice." Sirius retorted, glaring at the black haired girl for a moment before looking back at James. "He hasn't been doing any pranks with us!" He gasped. "What if he's given up on mischief making to be with Prefect Alice to learn how to be a proper Prefect because he wants to be one?"

James's eyes widened. "What? That fiend! We must end this!"

"Yes, but how? Remus hasn't been spending all that much time with us lately." Sirius muttered.

"Uh, guys, Remus and Alice just left and Frank followed them." Peter interrupted, staring at where the three disappeared to.

"What?" James and Sirius whipped their heads around to look and saw them all gone. "We're going to miss the show!"

"Show?" Peter echoed confused and frowning as James and Sirius jumped out of their seats and ran towards the door.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"Do you mind if we go to the pet store?" Alice asked.

Remus shrugged. "It's your day, Alice. I'm just here for the ride."

Eyes shining happily, Alice pulled Remus out of his seat and towards the door. Neither of the two noticed Frank get up at the same time and follow after them.

"OI! Lupin!" Frank said as he strolled after Alice and Remus.

Remus froze in his steps, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets as he turned to stare at the Prefect. "Lupin?" He mouthed to himself. It wasn't often he heard his surname from anyone but the professors and Slytherins. "Yes, Frank?" He asked louder. "Did I do something to offend you?"

Frank glared down at the younger boy. "What do you think you are playing at, Lupin?"

"Why does everyone think I'm playing at something?" Remus muttered, recalling the words Peter said in The Three Broomsticks as he was listening to his friends' conversation out of amusement earlier.

"Alice," Frank turned his attention to his fellow Prefect. "What are you doing with him?"

Alice raised a brow and took Remus's hand in his, interlocking their fingers. "I'm on a date with him."

"WHAT?" Frank screeched just as James, Sirius, and Peter skidded to a halt behind him, staring at the two in shock and curiosity.

Quite a few people stopped what they were doing to look at the group, but three-fourths of the Marauders and Alice glared at them to get them moving along.

Alice turned back to Frank. "Yes, Frank, a date. He asked me out and since no one else bothered to ask me, I decided to go out with him. We have been having a lot of fun, right, Remus?" She turned to look at the younger boy, who grinned at her.

"You bet, Alice." Remus replied.

"B-but…he…he…" Frank said. He shot a glare at Frank then turned to Alice with his eyes softened. "But you know I like you."

Alice raised a brow. "Do I? You never said it or asked me out so I just thought I should move on."

"But with him?!" Frank shouted, pointing at Remus.

"Hey! What's wrong with me?" Remus asked offended as he looked himself up and down.

"Why not him? He's kind, smart, funny, considerate." Alice said, ticking the traits off on her fingers.

Frank groaned and grabbed at his hair.

Sirius coughed behind him. "Make a move or something, Frank." He whispered. "Before you really do lose her to Remus."

"Sensible, strong, humble–" Alice continued, not really paying attention to Frank as she thought.

Frank grabbed Alice's hand and pulled it down then he gently lifted her head and kissed her.

Remus and his friends stared in shock at Frank's bold move. "Shouldn't you take her on a date first?" Remus asked dazed.

Neither of the two seemed to hear him. Alice just wrapped her arms around Frank's neck and deepened the kiss.

"Well, alright then." Remus said and he walked away with his friends following him a few seconds later.

"I think you lost your date, Remus." James said, snickering. "That's what you get for ditching us."

Remus shrugged. "I don't care."

"What?" Sirius asked confused. He glanced over his shoulder to look at Frank and Alice who were becoming smaller and smaller as the Marauders walked away. The two Prefects were now standing in the middle of the road, kissing. Quite a few women cooed at the sight of the lovebirds while others just walked around them in annoyance. "Then what was the point in going out with her?"

The werewolf looked at his friends with a smirk. "Well, you see…."

***Flashback***

"_Ello, Alice." Remus said as he sat down in front of the Prefect in the library. _

_The blue eyed glue looked up at him in confusion, but nodded in reply anyway. Remus usually didn't talk to her in the library for the simple fact that he came here to study. She closed her book and gave him her full attention. "Can I do something for you, Remus?"_

_Turning to Alice with a smirk, Remus leaned on the table to be closer to her and whispered, "It's actually what I can do for you, Alice." _

_Alice raised a slender black eyebrow. "Oh?"_

"_Frank is too scared to make a move on you and I know you both like each other." Remus explained, and when he saw Alice's shock look, which was quickly replaced by a blush, he laughed. "Please? Did you think you were hiding it? Everyone can see it, Alice." _

_Alice frowned, shaking her head briefly before looking back at the younger boy. "Okay, I'll concede that I do like Frank. But how can you help me?"_

"_Well," Remus said, smirking. "What do you say to a fake date with someone a bit younger then you?" _

_The Prefect stared at Remus for a moment before a smile twitched at her lips. "You just want to play a prank on my soon-to-be-boyfriend, don't you?"_

_Remus shrugged. "What can I say? I've been bored lately. And if some good comes out of it, then who really cares?" He gave her a sweet grin that Alice just couldn't refuse. _

"_Oh, alright. I'll indulge you with your little game, but you better make sure I get Frank in the end." Alice told him, but was grinning herself. _

"_Of course, Ms. Alice. I do not start something and stop halfway." Remus replied, standing up and dusting himself off before bowing to Alice and grabbing her hand, placing a chaste kiss on it. "Then I will see you for our date on the first Hogsmeade trip." _

***End*Flashback* **

His three friends gaped at him as Remus continued strolling back to the castle.

"Wow." Sirius said, running to catch up with Remus. "I'm impressed. You guys were touching and holding hands a lot. It really looked like you were a couple with you two being so close. For a plan like that, I thought it would have been more awkward."

Remus looked at Sirius and raised a brow. "I'm a Marauder. I don't do anything halfway." He shoved is hands in his pockets and looked forward again. "I made those plans with Alice a few weeks ago. Since then, whenever we could, we would meet up in private or I would go with her on her Prefect patrol and we just held hands or made some type of physical contact so we got used to it and it wasn't awkward anymore."

"That's where you've been disappearing too?" James shouted. "Prefect patrol? Ugh!"

"That's what you get out of that?" Remus asked.

James shrugged. "Well, I guess it's better then what we thought."

"That I gave up mischief?" Remus asked, smirking at their shocked looks. He looked around to make sure they were alone on the path. "You seem to forget my enhanced hearing, James."

"But in such a crowded place, there was no way you could hear us!" Peter protested.

Remus laughed. "If I was concentrating hard enough, I could hear you."

"But you were talking to Alice! We saw you!" Sirius said.

Remus smirked. "I guess I'm just better then you."

"WHAT?" Three voices screeched indignantly.

Shooting them a look, Remus started running ahead of them to get back to the castle first. His friends screamed and chased after him, shouting about how Remus could never hope to be better then them. The four boys shoved through Gideon and Fabian who were returning as well. All four turned around and shot the twins a smirk as they continued to run.

A school owl holding a package landed in front of Remus the next morning at breakfast. Raising a brow, Remus put down his pumpkin juice and took the package and letter. He ripped open the envelope and pulled the letter out, ignoring his rambunctious friends who were having an eating contest.

_Hey Remus!_

_I just wanted to say thank you for helping getting Frank to finally ask me out. Yes, he did ask me out after he snogged me senseless. You walked away before you could hear him ask me. I must say I am impressed. You really don't do things halfway, though you couldn't very plan for Frank to kiss me. Frank also apologizes for getting angry at you. He says thank you for giving him the courage and chance to ask me out and kiss me, though he would also like to add that you never take me on a date again, even if it is fake. So as a thank you from both of us for your amusing help, this is a gift from us. We hope you enjoy it. _

_Alice & Frank_

Chuckling to himself, Remus pulled the package closer to him and ripped the paper apart. To his amusement and happiness, inside was a copy of "Master of Pranks 101." He flipped to the first chapter of the book but only got through two lines before he heard groaning and whining. He looked up to see his three friends facedown on the table, holding their stomachs. Rolling his eyes, he shoved his new book in his bag then he grabbed James and Sirius by the back of their cloaks in one hand and then grabbed Peter's wrist and dragged all of them out of the Great Hall to take them to the Hospital Wing. As he passed Frank and Alice on his way out, the latter gave him a smirk and winked, making Remus laugh.

**A/N: Please Review!**


	16. Chapter 16: Quidditch & Revenge

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. **

**Thanks for reviewing!**

**The Marauders Year 3**

**Chapter 16: Quidditch & Revenge **

"Catch!"

Remus's eye twitched violently as a ball flew over his head and into James's waiting hands. His grip on his quill tightened as the ball was thrown back to Sirius, who wasted no time in throwing it back to James.

This had been going on for a half hour already. The two biggest mischievous idiots were throwing a ball around, playing catch of all things! Normally this wouldn't bother Remus because it meant his friends were being tame for once and not causing mischief and making everyone in the whole freaking castle insane.

But catch also wasn't normally played in a dorm room. It also wasn't normally done when one of the occupants of the room was trying to get homework done!

Keyword: trying.

It was impossible to get any work done with these two being as loud as they were. And Peter wasn't here to suffer with him because he got detention for fooling around in Divination. That jerk.

When Sirius messed up a toss and hit Remus, the boy had enough and grabbed the ball, glaring first at James, who was standing on Sirius's bed, then at Sirius, who was standing on Peter's truck grinning like the idiot he was down at the boy lying on his stomach on the bed.

"What's up, Re?" Sirius asked foolishly. "Want to play too?"

"No. I do not want to play." Remus snapped, eye still twitching violently. He rolled off of James's bed and went over to the window.

"Oi!" James shouted as Remus opened the window. "What are you doing?"

When Remus didn't reply, but got ready to throw the ball out the window instead, James launched off of the bed and at Remus. "Not the ball!" He cried as he tackled Remus to the ground.

Remus froze in shock for a moment before he was twisting and struggling against James to find a better angle to kick him off of him. Every time he did find a good angle to throw James off him, James would just roll them across the room, bumping into things as they did to get a better grip on Remus.

Seeing as the two were busy swearing, making threats, and just generally trying to kill each other, Sirius jumped off of Peter's trunk and casually strolled out of the room with death threats ringing in his ears all the way.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"Sirius!"

The Black heir stopped in the hallway and looked over his shoulder to see Peter rushing towards him. "Peter." He greeted. "How was detention?"

Peter groaned as he fell into step with Sirius. "Boring. I had to clean all of the tea cups without magic! It took forever and when I broke one, I got a huge scolding! It's like she thinks I did it on purpose!"

Sirius snickered. "I can't believe she made you clean the tea cups when you broke one on the first day of that class."

Peter muttered something rude about their professor under his breath before asking louder, "What are you doing out here anyway? And where are James and Remus?" He asked, looking around for the two mentioned.

"Attempting murder."

At those words, Peter froze in his steps and stared with wide eyes at his friend's back. "M-murder? Whose?"

Sirius shrugged. "Each other's."

Peter continued to stare at Sirius. "You left them alone when they are trying to kill each other?"

"What's the worst that could happen?" Sirius asked with another unconcerned shrug. "Anyway, I was thinking of continuing Operation Moony. We still have to find a place to brew that potion so no one will find it."

"Why can't we do it in the room behind the mirror?" Peter asked.

"We told you." Sirius said with an annoyed sigh. "Gideon and Fabian probably know about that room. We don't want them accidentally coming across it."

Peter shrugged, staring at the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy trying to teach trolls ballet that was on the wall they were passing. "Well, where else do you want to brew it?"

"I don't know!" Sirius cried in frustration.

"Well, do you have the cloak? Curfew is in half an hour." Peter pointed out.

Sirius froze in taking his next step and smacked his forehead. "I knew I forgot something when I left the dorm. It's all James's and Remus's fault for fighting by James's trunk.'" He grumbled in annoyance as he spun around and headed back towards the tower.

Peter looked back at him in confusion. "Uh, Sirius, the fastest way back to the tower was the direction you were going." He said as he pointed to where they were heading before.

The Black heir shouted in frustration and spun around again and headed back there. "This is getting really annoying. I'm going to hit both of those prats when I–" He cut himself off when he saw something forming on the wall out of the corner of his eyes. Both he and Peter spun to face the wall, staring in shock as a door slowly materialized on the wall. "Uh…any idea as to what that is, Peter?"

"…" Peter glanced at Sirius then at the door. "A door?"

Sirius shot him an annoyed look. "No shit, Peter. That's not what I meant."

"Well, you should have been clearer!" Peter snapped back. He started to approach the door. "Are we going in or what?"

Sirius looked over his shoulder to make sure it was clear before looking back at Peter with a shrug. "Nothing to lose but our lives and since James and Remus might already be dead, they won't miss us."

Peter shot his friend a horrified look before he was pushing the door open gingerly.

Behind him, Sirius rolled his eyes. "Stop being such a pussy!" He said and then shoved Peter into the room. As his friend shouted in shock, Sirius entered the room and slammed the door behind him before looking down at Peter, who was sprawled out facedown on the ground. "What are you doing?"

Rolling onto his back, Peter glared at his friend. "Wishing for a bat to beat you up with." Peter muttered, and then much to both of their surprise a bat suddenly appeared above Peter then fell on him, dropping into his stomach and making him gasp and fly up.

"Wow!" Sirius said, looking at the ceiling of the room. "That was amazing. I wonder where the bat came from."

"Oh, thank you for caring so much, Sirius!" Peter spat sarcastically as he climbed to his feet with the bat in his hands. "But you don't have to worry. I am completely fine!"

Ignoring Peter, Sirius looked around the room to see that it looked like a potions lab. With a grin in place, Sirius walked over to one of the tables where a cauldron was sitting. "A potions lab! Just what we needed!"

"What we need is to get back to the tower before its past curfew and we're caught trying to make it back there." Peter said, tossing the bat aside into a bookcase.

Sirius's eyes followed the bat as it hit the bookcase as he frowned thoughtfully. "What type of books are those?"

"What?" Peter muttered, walking over to it. "Are you going to ignore everything I say?" He pulled a book down and looked at it. "_Mastering Animagus_." He grabbed another book. "_A Beginners Guide to Being Animagus_." He pulled another book down. "_Animagus: Becoming the Animal_."

"Oooh, sounds helpful." Sirius said, bouncing over to the bookcases. He ran a finger lightly over the spines of the books with a grin. "But you're right, we can't stay here any longer. We really need to get back to the tower. I wouldn't care about being caught out after curfew, but considering our first game is tomorrow, I'm not risking anything."

"That's right!" Peter said, eyes lighting up. "I had forgotten about that." Then he frowned and gave Sirius a look of disbelief. "Tomorrow is your first game of the year and you left Remus and James to kill each other?"

Sirius blinked for a moment as he thought about that before a look panic crossed his face and he ran to the door, practically denting the wall from the force he threw it open with, and pelted down the hallway with Peter only a few steps behind him.

"You forgot too, didn't you?" Peter shouted at his back.

"Shut up, Pete!"

*Y*E*A*R*3*

Two pair of eyes stared blankly at their dorm room where pillows were thrown about, bed curtains were ripped off the beds, ink and parchment decorated the floors and walls, some blood covered the ground, and the ball that Sirius and James were playing with earlier was rolling around on the floor since it was hit with the door when Sirius opened it.

"What the….where are James and Remus?" Sirius said confused, looking around the messy dorm room.

"Sooo," Peter drawled. "Were they really trying to kill each other or were they just fooling around?"

"I swear I thought they were fooling around. That's why I wasn't concerned when I left!" Sirius shouted as he clambered back down the stairs he just raced up. When he entered the common room, he did a quick search and when he found Angel, he ran over to her. "Where are James and Remus?"

Angel looked up with a frown. "Hospital Wing. Why do you boys have to fool around in such a stupid way?"

Without bothering to reply, Sirius turned to the portrait and left just as quickly as he came in earlier. Groaning from all the running around they were doing, Peter raced after him and the portrait slammed shut behind him.

Shawn turned to Angel and raised a brow. "Shouldn't you stop them? It is past curfew."

Angel shrugged and went back to her homework. "They are just going to the Hospital Wing and if they get caught, I'll just say I never noticed them leave."

"How did you ever get Head Girl?" Gideon muttered.

*Y*E*A*R*3

"I leave you two alone for thirty minutes and this is what happens?" Sirius shouted as he barged into the Hospital Wing and saw Remus on a bed getting his wrist looked at and James on another bed with a cut on his head which was pulled shut by a few thin plasters and dry blood on his cheek. "Oh, god." Sirius turned away and put a hand to his forehead. "I sound like a responsible Remus again. I thought we were passed this, Remus!'

Remus looked up from getting his wrist bandaged by Madam Pomfrey and grinned sheepishly at his friend's back. "Sorry, Sirius. James and I went a bit far when we were fig–roughhousing." He amended when he remembered the nurse treating him.

"Honestly, don't you boys know any better? I have had it with treating you boys after you fight." Madam Pomfrey tsked.

"It wasn't a fight. I just tackled Remus and we went around, around, around!" James cheered, throwing his arms excitedly into the air.

Sirius raised a brow and jerked a thumb at him. "And what's wrong with that one?"

"He hit his head on the corner of one of the trunks. I never realized how sharp those corners are into he started bleeding all over the place." Remus replied, grinning. "He has been so loopy since he hit his head."

"You broke our seeker." Sirius said blankly. "We have a game tomorrow and you broke our seeker?!"

"What? Me?" Remus cried in disbelief. He threw his free hand at James. "He's the one who started it!"

"Mr. Lupin, stop fidgeting." Madam Pomfrey ordered.

"Why can't you just heal it?" Remus whined.

Madam Pomfrey glared at him. "It was your own fault you fractured it, Mr. Lupin."

"Madam P?" Sirius interrupted. "Is James going to be alright for the game tomorrow?"

Madam Pomfrey glanced at James who was wearing a silly grin. "Oh, he'll be alright after a good night's rest. Won't you, Mr. Potter?"

James grinned and nodded.

"Are they alright to come back to the dorm?" Peter asked worriedly, staring at the madly grinning James who was now playing with a glass of water that was on the nightstand by his bed.

Madam Pomfrey finished wrapping up Remus's wrist and nodded. "They're both fine." She looked back at Remus. "And you. You are lucky it's not your wand arm you fractured. Now both of you get out of here."

Jumping off the bed, Remus shot the nurse a grin and he went over to James's bed and looked down at his black haired friend. "Feel up to walking back to the dorm, James?"

Grinning, James jerked his hand with the glass in it and the water splashed all over a shocked Remus. "JAMES!" He yelled angrily, rubbing the water out of his eyes.

Laughing, Sirius shook his head and looked down at James. "Does that mean you are ready for the walk back, Jamesy?"

James nodded and pushed himself up. "What a ride!" He jumped off the bed, swayed for a moment, before turning around and heading to the door, only to walk right into another bed. After stumbling back and almost falling over, he was back on his feet and clumsily walking around the beds and over to the door, which he proceeded to walk into. If Peter wasn't behind him, he would have fallen to the ground.

"Want to bet he'll get knocked off his broom tomorrow?" Sirius whispered to Remus, who was pushing wet bangs out of his eyes.

Remus shot him a look. "Sirius, that is horrible." He paused for a moment, looking thoughtful, before saying, "Two galleons say he stays on his broom the whole game."

Sirius shot his friend a grin. "Deal."

"No interference from you or the bet is void." Remus said.

Sirius held his hands up innocently.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

Sirius and Remus stopped together outside of the changing rooms. They shared a look then looked back at James then at each other again. "At least make sure he doesn't get killed." Remus told Sirius before walking away to go to the commentator's booth.

"No promises!" Sirius yelled after his friend. When James reached his side, he was looking confused and shooting his friend a questioning look, but Sirius just laughed and clapped his shoulder.

"Annnnd now, highly against my will, I, Remus Lupin, will be your new commentator this year because Ness is a lazy little bas–"

"LUPIN! You finish that sentence and you'll be in detention!" McGonagall shouted.

"Shutting up." Remus said, grinning sheepishly at his glaring professor. He coughed before looking back at the field. "And appearing first on the field we have the House of Lions known for their bravery and daring, which should sometimes be considered absolutely reckless, GRYFFINDOR!"

Three-fourths of the students burst into loud applause and cheering as the Gryffindor team flew out onto the field.

"Captain and Chaser, Shawn Wood, Chaser Angel Jackson, Chaser Athena Rox, Beater Shayne Matthews, Beater and all around reckless idiot, Sirius Black!"

"WHAT?" Sirius screeched, glaring down at Remus. "REMUS!"

Remus shot his friend a cheeky grin while the students burst into laughter. "Just keeping you on your toes, Sirius. As for Keeper, Kallie Adam and our Seeker, who is reckless idiot number 2, James Potter!"

"NOT FUNNY!" James shouted, but was drowned out by the laughter.

"And from the other side of the field we have the House of Snakes known for their ambitious nature and rather annoying cunning minds, SLYTHERIN!"

The Slytherin house burst into cheers and applause as their house zoomed onto the field, flying passed the Gryffindor players.

"Captain and Chaser, Mario Rondell, Chaser Jonathan Salem, Chaser Erin Lank, Beater Edward Olan, Beater Jude Danka, Keeper Stephen Moran, and Seeker Jake Anders!"

"The Bludgers have been released, followed by the Golden Snitch. Madam Hooch releases the Quaffle which is caught by Salem! What the hell Gryffindor? How could you let Slytherin beat you to it?"

Sirius snickered when he heard Remus complaining already. He really wasted no time in letting his sharp tongue run wild.

"And Black hits a Bludger towards Salem, who rolls in the air to avoid it before throwing the Quaffle to Lank, who catches it with ease only to have Matthews come out of nowhere and slam a Bludger into the Quaffle under her arm, causing her to lose it. The Quaffle falls to the ground with both Wood and Rondell racing to get to it first. AND MOVE THE BLOODY HELL FASTER, WOOD! I swear if you lose to the bloody snakes again…."

"LUPIN! Unbiased commentary!" McGonagall shouted.

Remus gave her a blank look. Unbiased? He was a bloody Gryffindor! No way in hell would it be unbiased. She really expected too much of her students.

"Wood has caught the Quaffle first!" Remus shouted as he turned back to the game. "He races passed Rondell, who looks quite pissed off at this change. And while Wood throws the Quaffle to a passing Jackson, Rondell stays frozen in spot like the idiot he is."

"LUPIN! I swear I will silence you if you don't start doing this properly."

"Proper is boring." Remus grumbled under his breathe, but did get serious. "Jackson zooms through Salem, Olan, and Danka before throwing the Quaffle to Rox, who catches it and reaches the Slytherin goal posts and Moran. She lobs it and makes it through the middle goal post! Way to go, ROXY! 10 points to Gryffindor!"

Athena blinks and looks over at Remus. "Did he just call me Roxy?"

"Ignore him!" Sirius shouted as he flew past her and slammed his bat into a Bludger, sending it flying at Lank, who was taking the Quaffle from Moran. She flew under the Bludger and sped towards the Gryffindor goal posts.

"Matthews hits a Bludger towards Lank, but Danka comes out of nowhere and knocks it back at him while Lank dives under Wood, then swerves around Jackson."

James's eyes narrowed as he looked around the field for the Golden Snitch as he kept one ear listening to Remus's commentary. It was quite amusing at times and got even more amusing with McGonagall yelling at him. It was a good thing he wasn't afraid of her.

"Lank reaches the Gryffindor goal posts and just as she throws the Quaffle, but Adam is distracted by Olan suddenly appearing there. GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME, ADAM!" Remus suddenly yelled. "And Slytherin scores because a certain Gryffindor Keeper got distracted by a Beater who didn't even have a Bludger by him! Way to go, Adam! Thanks so much for letting the Snakes get one up on you!"

Adam's brow twitched in annoyance.

"Slytherin gets 10 points and it's all tied up!" Remus said. "Adams tosses the Quaffle to Rox and she loops backwards in the air before heading towards the opposite side of the field." He whistled softly. "Now that was an impression loop! You're an amazing flying, Roxy! Oooh, Rox dodges a Bludger then swerves to dodge Olan who was aiming for her head. Rox passes the Quaffle to Jackson who takes it to the Slytherin goals. She throws it annnndddd Moran tries to block it, but instead slams into the goal post and the Quaffle bounces through the goal post because of Moran's clumsy hands! Learn how to fly, Moran! That was pathetic!"

"LUPIN!" McGonagall screeched, glaring at the werewolf, who just glared back and frowned.

"What?" Remus asked annoyed. "You said keep it unbiased. I figure if I'm insulting both teams, it's unbiased!"

"Lupin." McGonagall said dangerously.

Remus held his hands up. "Alright, alright." He turned back to the game, grumbling, "You're never satisfied with anything. What is it you want from me? A boring commentary that is just about the game?"

"Did you say something?" McGonagall asked sharply.

"No, no." Remus looked at his professor innocently. "I would never say anything against you. You're my favorite Professor Minnie!"

"LUPIN!"

"Uh…." Remus stared at McGonagall, who had a very dangerous glint in her eye. "Sooo, uh, 10 points to Gryffindor. The score is now 20-10, Gryffindor leads! And can someone also save me from McGonagall's wrath over here? Anyone? Please?"

Remus twitched a bit when he felt a certain Professor's glare boring into his back. He quickly continued the commentary before she could do anything. "And Wood has caught the Quaffle after it made it through the goal posts and throws it to Rox, who makes immediately work of throwing it towards the goal posts, but Moran seems to have gotten his wits back because he manages to block the Quaffle and kick it towards Rondell, who catches it. A Bludger from Black sends the Quaffle going bye-bye before it is caught by Salem, who is making up for his captain's mistake."

James's brow twitched. As amused as he was by Remus's commentary, he was going to make everyone on the teams want to kill him, and it wasn't just going to be the Slytherin players if the twitch in Kallie's brow was anything to go by.

As the game went on and on, with each team making or missing goals, the score eventually reached 80-40 points in Gryffindor's favor and the players were beginning to play dirty. For every dirty move that Slytherin made, the Gryffindor players retaliated. This was why Remus hated Gryffindor-Slytherin games. They were always dirty like this!

"Lank has got the Quaffle now and she is zooming left and right through…..WHAT THE HELL? JAMES!" Remus shouted in fear, forgetting the rest of the game. His eyes stared transfixed on his falling friend.

Seeing James fall from that high up freaked Sirius out. He was flying passed James when Danka came out of nowhere and hit James. His reaction time was sharp enough though because he was suddenly diving at the falling James and throwing his bat aside.

As for James, he couldn't even muster up the strength to scream in fear as he was falling upside down to the ground. All he could do was stare at the rushing ground with air trapped in his throat. All he heard was the air rushing in his ears. He couldn't even hear the screams of fear and yelling for someone to save him from the crowd.

Sirius stared at the falling James in absolute in fear as he took a hand off of his broom and tried to reach for his friend.

Just before he was about to slam into the ground, a desperate Sirius wrapped his hand around James's slender ankle and he pulled up hard on his broom to bring them level with the ground.

"And Potter has been unfairly knocked off his broom by an uncalled attacked by Danka who has slammed him in the chest with his bat. Seriously? Your Bat? That is obviously a penalty!" Remus yelled angrily, glaring at Danka, who shot him a sneer. Remus's golden eyes flashed dangerously, but he didn't dwell on the older boy and instead looked down at the field where Wood had landed and was helping to gently lay James on the ground.

Madam Hooch blew a whistle for a timeout and landed next to the boys and the rest of their team. He narrowed his eyes and started to ignore McGonagall, who was yelling angrily at Danka from the booth, in favor of concentrating on the conversation going on in the field.

"Is James going to be okay?" Sirius asked worriedly, looking down at his black haired friend, who suddenly had dazed eyes and very harsh breathing.

Madam Hooch kneeled beside the boy and felt around his chest, trying to find where the boy had been hit. She gingerly moved her hands across his chest, pushing down a bit in each area until she heard James give a sharp gasp of pain. She tsked to herself and looked up at Wood. "It seems a few of his ribs have been broken on the right side. He can't continue this."

Wood nodded, looking grim. "Of course."

"N-no." James said, opening his eyes and staring at his captain. "I'm fine."

Wood looked at him incredulously. "Your ribs are broken. You're lucky they're not piercing your lungs. Playing anymore could make them worse. Go to the Hospital Wing, Potter."

James groaned and turned his head to the side.

Watching his friend being carted off on a stretcher to the Hospital Wing made Remus nervous. He cast his glance to McGonagall, who didn't even have to think about it. She just nodded her head to him.

"And the reserve seeker is being brought in for Gryffindor and McGonagall is taking over for commentary!" Remus shouted before he was racing out of the commentator's booth and out of the stand.

He met Peter, who was already racing towards the castle. They shared a grim look.

"Broken ribs and probably a bruised chest." Remus informed Peter, who didn't even question how he knew this stuff anymore.

"Is the reserve seeker any good?" Peter asked.

Remus shrugged. "Who knows?"

When the two boys burst into the Hospital Wing, they found Madam Pomfrey already leaning over James and tsking to herself. The two teenagers shared a grin at that. She was always tsking and glaring at the members of their group for always ending up in here.

Upon their arrival though, she shot the boys a glare. "Don't just barge in here like that."

"Sorry, Madam P." Remus replied with a grin as he walked over to the bed James was on. "Will he be alright?"

"Just a few broken ribs and a bruised chest. Nothing that's not easily fixed." Madam Pomfrey told the two boys. "But he'll need to stay overnight and he'll need a potion. Be right back, boys."

The nurse bundled away and Remus and Peter stood on one side of the bed, looking down at their friend. "Ello, James." Remus greeted.

James opened his eyes to look at Remus. "What'cha doing here? Don't you have a game to commentate?"

Remus shrugged, deciding to ignore the grammar mistakes this time since his friend was hurt. "The warden let me go to come visit you."

James started to chuckle, but winced when it agitated his broken ribs. "Don't make me laugh, Re."

"Don't call me that." Remus retorted. "My second warden set me free, but the first warden." He glanced up at Madam Pomfrey who was returning and giving him and Peter a suspicious glare. "Well, she is imprisoning you're here tonight, James. Have fun."

James wasn't sure if he wanted to grin or groan at that.

"At least he will only be locked away for one night." Peter said, grinning at their friend, who decided that the right thing to do was groan right now.

After being forced to drown a nasty concoction and having a few healing spells done on him, James leaned back into his pillows with a tired sigh. "I don't know how you can stand this every month, Re."

Remus's brow twitched in annoyance. "At least you only got force fed one horrible potion."

James chuckled, but grimaced a bit and held his chest afterwards.

"Do you think Danka will get in trouble for this?" Peter asked.

James gave a one shoulder shrug. "Who knows?"

"He probably will. It was against the rules and Minnie was really mad. You should have heard her yelling." Remus replied.

"What was she saying?" James asked curiously.

Remus shrugged. "Don't know. I blocked her out to listen to Madam Hooch and Shawn talk about you. I do know she was furious though."

"And she dragged him off the field by his ear the moment the game ended." Sirius announced as he entered the Hospital Wing with a grin. "It was hilarious."

The three boys laughed as they imagined that, though James's was more of a half-laugh, half-grimace.

Dropping his grin, Sirius frowned in worry and stopped at the end of James's bed and crossed his arms. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." James said. "Though the warden has confined me for the night."

Sirius's lips twitched for a moment before he frowned again. "We lost. Anders caught the snitch. 190-90."

The other three boys groaned at that announcement.

"Great." James muttered. "Just great."

"The rest of their team sends their love and say to get better soon." Sirius informed him. "They'd come visit they said, but." He shrugged. "They didn't want to deliver the news. Oh, and Woods has your broom. He said he'll put it in our dorm for you."

James nodded his head.

The boys continued talking for fifteen minutes before Madam Pomfrey returned and told them James needed to rest and kicked them out of the Hospital Wing.

As they were leaving, Remus subtly slid the two galleons into Sirius's hand as they fell into step behind Peter.

"Thank you." Sirius said.

"I feel it was unfair, but you did save him." Remus replied.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

Three-fourths of the Marauders stared in shock at Danka when he walked into Great Hall the next day at breakfast. The Slytherin was wearing a girl's uniform, was wearing way too much make-up so he looked like a scary clown, and his hair was dark pink with a yellow bow it.

They were the only ones to notice until a firework suddenly zoomed into the Great Hall and exploded above Danka, which drew attention to him. Everyone stared in shock at the boy until the firework exploded and words formed in the sparks of it to say, "Danka, the prettiest girl in Hogwarts!"

That did it for the students. They fell into loud, uncontrollable laughter. Some even had tears pouring down their faces. In all the uproar, no one noticed a certain third year slide into the hall and quietly make his way over to his friends. None that was, except a certain redhead, who stared from him to the Danka then back again.

When he slid into his seat next to Peter, his friends finally noticed him and their laughs subsided to silly grins and a few chuckles. James and Sirius shared a smirk then looked back at Remus.

"What?" Remus said, looking at his friends with a raised brow, keeping his expression neutral as he filled his plate with food.

James shrugged. "You don't like hexing students." He looked back at the embarrassed Danka, who now had Prefects trying to help him out. "I can't believe you did this."

"He knocked you off your broom." He told James, stabbing his fork into some of his chicken. He looked up at his friends with a smirk shining in his eyes. "I couldn't just let him get away with it."

"Oh?" Sirius asked amused. "Detention for a week is getting away with it then?"

Remus smirked at him. He leaned across the table and whispered, "Marauders Revenge."

James and Sirius howled with laughter.

Sitting back down, Remus glanced at the Head Table. He noticed McGonagall looking at him suspiciously, but if she ever thought he did it, she never questioned him.

"But how did you do that thing with the fireworks?" Peter asked confused, staring at the fireworks which were still whistling.

Remus chuckled. "Fireworks? Well, let's just say a certain pair of twins made those for me." He raised his goblet in a slight toast to Gideon and Fabian down the table, who in turn returned the toast.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"It was you, wasn't it?" Lily demanded, standing over Remus.

Remus looked up from his homework to stare at Lily with a raised brow. He leaned back in his chair and continued to stare at her, waiting for his friend to continue.

"Your friends are a bad influence on you." Lily stated matter-of-factly and Remus thought she was going to be mad at him again or even turn him in at this point, but then she suddenly smiled. "I may not like Potter or your pranks, but I do understand honor and friendship. You're a good friend, Remus."

**A/N: Please Review! **


	17. Chapter 17: Issues on the Full Moon

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. **

**Thanks for reviewing!**

**The Marauders Year 3**

**Chapter 17: Issues on the Full Moon **

A groan resounded throughout the room as Remus rolled out of his bed with his blankets to avoid his annoying friends trying to tackle him. He lifted his head over the bed to shoot them a nasty glare. "Not today, guys." He muttered and freed himself from the blankets.

"Not today?" Sirius echoed, glancing at James. "He says not today!"

"I heard." James replied before staring at Remus with a frown. "It is never 'not today,' Remus John!"

Remus shot his friends a dry glare, though there was little fire in it because of how tired and pain filled they looked. He rubbed the bags under his eyes and just sighed. "Guys, seriously, today is the full moon. I already feel like crap. Leave me alone." He muttered.

As Remus walked into the bathroom with his clothes to get ready for the day, Sirius turned to James with his mouth hanging open in shock. His friend had a similar expression on his face. They just stood there staring at each other in shock with Peter looking between the two confused.

"What has you two so shocked? We already knew about his furry little problem." Peter said as he jumped onto his bed and sat down.

"You don't see it!" Sirius cried incredulously. He pointed a finger at the bathroom door. "Remus John Lupin, stubborn prick that he is, actually told us he wasn't feeling well and why! He never does that!"

"I heard that!" Remus yelled through the bathroom door.

Sirius shared a grin with James before looking back at the bathroom door. "Well, are you sure you want to go to class today? You look like shit."

Remus snorted. "Oh, thank you so much for the amazing compliment, Sirius!"

"I always aim to please." Sirius said, grinning even more widely.

The boys waited for a sarcastic response from Remus like he always gave them, but after a minute of hearing nothing but some shifting from the bathroom, the boys shared a look. The shifting soon disappeared, but was replaced by a loud CRASH which was then followed by some grumbling, which James believed also included some very colorful language that would make his mother sure to want to start using magic again just to clean his mouth out.

"Uh…" Peter glanced at Sirius and James. "So, who wants to go see Remus?"

James and Sirius glanced at each other then at the door then at each other. Both of them narrowed their eyes and looked back at the dorm door. When they looked back at each other, they were both frowning. Neither one of them noticed Peter already disappearing from the bedroom as they were so intent on their staring contest.

"NOT IT!" James and Sirius both shouted at the same time then whipped around to look at Peter, only to see his empty bed.

"What?" Sirius hissed, looking around the dorm room. "That rat! He left us!"

SLAM!

Sirius and James both jumped in surprise and looked towards the bathroom to see a very annoyed Remus stomping out with his tie in his hand which he was glaring at as if everything in the world that went wrong was its fault. The rest of his uniform was put on neatly though.

"Uh, Re? Is there something wrong with your tie?" Sirius asked.

His voice seemed to snap Remus out of his glaring trance because his annoyed eyes moved up to look at Sirius with a slight twitch in his eyebrow. "Do not call me Re, Sirius! And of course there is something wrong with the stupid tie! Just look at it!" He raised his hand with the tie and waved it around in the air like a madman. "Just look at it!" He threw the tie on his bed and glared angrily at it as if he was hoping to set it on fire just by staring. "It's mocking me."

The two black haired boys shared a look as if to say that their friend was completely loopy, which probably wasn't far from the truth.

"Remus, that's a tie." James said carefully, walking over to his friend with as much caution as he could so his friend wouldn't bite his head off too. "How can a tie mock you?"

Remus looked at his friends before looking away with a scowl and crossing his arms stubbornly over his chest. He bowed his head and mumbled something incoherently.

James raised a brow. "Care to repeat that a bit louder this time, Remus? We can't hear you if you mumble like that."

Raising his head, Remus turned to look at his friends fully but there was not a faint blush coating his cheeks and he was tugging at the sleeves of his robes. "I can't get my tie tied properly."

Two pairs of eyes stared incredulously at the third. His annoyance was all because of his tie not working properly for him?

"Wait." Sirius said, lips twitching slightly. He shared a look with James then looked back at Remus. "You can't tie the tie you've been tying since first year?"

When both of his friends suddenly fell to the ground laughing, Remus growled and kicked his trunk. It wasn't his bloody fault that he couldn't tie his tie! His hands were shaking and it hurt to bend his fingers too much because all the aches running through his body. His body screamed at any movement that he made. He was sore, achy, agitated, tired, and worried about later night! And now his oh-so-wonderful friends were laughing at him! Stupid gits!

He snorted to himself. Of course they were laughing. Everything was a joke to them. It's not like they knew much about lycanthropy either. The books didn't tell them everything they needed to know about werewolves. There were just some things in life that no one could understand unless they actually experienced it.

"Okay, okay." James said, gaining his wits about him and standing up, though he couldn't wipe the grin off of his face completely. "Come over here, you idiot. I'll help you."

"What?" Remus snapped.

James rolled his eyes. "Get over here, idiot. I'll get your tie tied for you."

Grumbling and blushing deeply about having to get help with this, Remus picked up the offending piece of cloth and went over to James who made quick work of throwing the tie around Remus's neck and getting it tied properly while Sirius grinned like Cheshire Cat behind him.

"Be sure to watch carefully, Remus! You can't always have James help you with this." Sirius teased, making Remus shoot him a nasty glare.

"And there!" James said as he pulled the tie tight and got it straightened out. He stepped back, grinning at his friend. "This is certainly a first. I never thought I would have a roommate mess up with his tie."

Remus scowled at him and snatched his bag off the bed, stomping out of the dorm.

"What?" James yelled after his back as he ran out of the room after Remus, snatching his bag off of his trunk as he ran past it. "I don't even get a thank you?"

Shaking his head in amusement, Sirius picked up his bag and trailed after his friends. He wasn't all that surprised by Remus's reaction and he was sure that James wasn't either. He was just trying to get Remus to smile and forget all his problems right now. Though they all knew Remus would be a stubborn git and not try to forget his problems because that was how he was!

"Thank you for abandoning us, Pete." James grumbled as he sat down next to his friend with Remus sitting across from him.

Peter looked up from his breakfast. He first glanced at the frowning Remus, who was practically throwing his food on his plate, then at James and raised a brow. "I think I made the smart decision in getting out of there when I did."

"And that's why I hate you for it." James informed as he grabbed a piece of bacon and shoved it in his mouth.

Peter chuckled as the owl post arrived. He looked up at all the owls swooping into the hall. His brows furrowed at a crazy brown owl that was flying around like a lunatic with all the swerving, hooting, and bumping into other owls that it was doing. When he saw it starting to move towards them, he ducked his head to avoid it smashing into his head like it was doing to the owls.

Remus caught his movement so he was able to catch the crazy owl's movement and duck under the owl aiming to peck out his face as it changed direction to come at him.

"What the hell was that?" Remus growled, looking over his shoulder at the owl that crashed into the ground because of him ducking.

"Curiously enough, I believe that is something called an owl, Remus." James informed him, lips twitching a bit, but he bit down the smile he wanted to give. Giving a smile would probably just enrage Remus even more.

Remus shot him an annoyed glare that soon moved to the owl that flew back up to the table and started viciously pecking at his hands. "Oi! What the hell, you damn thing?" He snapped, ripping his hand away from the vicious beaks.

"I think it wants you to take the letter." Peter suggested, making Remus glare at him for a second before it was back on the bird.

When he started untying the letter, the owl started to peck at his neck savagely. Remus snarled and kept pushing the owl away. What was this owl and trying to kill him? Didn't he get that enough from doing it to himself on the full moon? What right did the owl have to try to kill him as well?

Eventually, after getting annoyed with his trembling hands and the vicious pecking that HE DIDN'T DESERVE, Remus grabbed a butter knife off the table.

"You're not going to stab that poor owl, are you?" James asked nervously.

Remus gave him an annoyed kick under the table. How many stupid comments was he going to receive today? "Do you think I support animal cruelty even if they are cruel to me first?" He snapped back before cutting the string off the owl's leg. As he got the letter off finally, the owl pecked his neck once more before it flew off, leaving Remus to glare after it and rubbing his bleeding neck. "Deranged owl." He muttered.

James bowed his head to hide the smile gracing his lips. He was partial to living today.

Remus looked down at the letter from the owl. His eyes twitched violently as he turned an angry glare to Sirius. "Why the hell am I getting attacked by a deranged owl with a letter for you?" He sneered, waving the letter around in the air.

"Uh…sorry." Sirius said, taking the letter from his friend. "You might want to go to the Hospital Wing or something to get those bite marks looked at."

Snorting, Remus stood up and left his friends behind.

"So, Remus seems to be in a mood today." Peter said, staring at the back of their retreating friend.

James snorted. "Understatement." He said as he raised his head and pushed his glasses back up. "His morning hasn't been good, but any other time he would have found amusement in it and laughed it off, but considering his furry little problem, he is pretty agitated."

"Whose furry little problem?"

James and Peter shouted in shock and jumped in their seats while Sirius snickered at their reaction. Both boys turned around to look at Gideon and Fabian, who were grinning down at the boys.

"Remus's." Sirius replied easily, eyes lighting up with mischief. "He's got this misbehaving rabbit hidden in our dorm and it is causing a bit of problem."

"A rabbit?" Gideon echoed.

"Those aren't even allowed at Hogwarts." Fabian said, frowning.

James shrugged. "Yeah. It's a secret. He snuck one in." He put a finger to his lips and made a shushing sound. "Don't tell, okay?"

The twins nodded in amusement. They waved bye to the boys and left to head to class. When they were out of the Great Hall, they put their heads together.

"They're lying?" Fabian asked.

"They're lying. It's not a rabbit." Gideon agreed. "Did you notice how horrible he looked today?"

Fabian nodded. "He looked like this in October too."

"And September."

"And all last year."

"And his first year."

"It's like a monthly thing with him. Think he's a sickly child?" Fabian asked, frowning as he thought it over. He and Gideon, despite the protests from their friends, have been looking into Remus and why he was always sick. They figured out that whenever he got sick like this, he always ended up leaving Hogwarts for something or another. His friends were always making excuses for his absences. And then when he returned, he usually had new injuries if his stiff walking and the way his friends were much gentler with him after his return were anything to go by.

"So, library later today?" Gideon said.

Fabian nodded.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

It was a very sour Remus who entered the library that afternoon after his last class had ended. He threw his bag on the table and collapsed into the chair. His head dropped onto the table, resulting in his headache becoming much, much worst, but at this point, Remus didn't care. He was just wishing for this day to be over with already. That was until he remembered that night was the full moon and he would be going through one hell of a transformation tonight which would then lead to him attacking himself all night.

His friends knew he was feeling like crap today, but they still gave him so much grief today about the tie, the deranged owl, and the fact that he kept snapping at everyone, which got him losing points from the teachers. It was a miracle to them all that they didn't have Defense today. In fact, it was a miracle that not one of his transformations this year so far has landed on a day where he had Defense.

"I believe the library is a place to study, not sleep."

Remus groaned and lifted his head off the table to glare at those insane enough to bother him on such a horrible day that even the so kind Lily Evans was avoiding him and glaring at him when he spoke since his voice was so sharp with anger today. Actually now that he thought about it, the only person not remotely irritated with him today was Madam Pomfrey and that was because she was used to his moods and the fact that she was more concerned over why an owl tried to eat him for breakfast today.

"Hello Remus." Two voices greeted.

Great. A pair of twins who can't mind their own business!

*Y*E*A*R*3*

Sirius unashamedly grinned at some fifth year girls that were passing him, James, and Peter. The girls either laughed or smiled back at him.

Rolling his eyes, James shoved his friend's shoulder. "Knock it off, Sirius, and just tell me what we are doing here and why you had to wait until Remus was away from us to tell me about it."

"Well, remember a few weeks ago when you and Remus tried to kill each other?" Peter asked.

James's brow twitched at that reminder. There was a small pink scar near his hairline on his forehead because of that incident. "We told you already, Peter! We were play fighting!"

Sirius snorted. "Who gets hurt in a play fight?" Before James could reply, Sirius plowed on forth. "We are here because of something amazing we found while you and Remus attempted each other's murder."

Hands thrown into the air in disbelief, James turned around to look at the tapestry on the wall with a scowl. "Weren't trying to kill each other." He grumbled to himself.

"Anyway," Peter interrupted James's angry mutters. "We believe we've found the perfect room for us to use for Operation Moony."

At those words, James's ears perked up and he forgot his annoyance to face his friends again with an excited gleam. Ever since school began this term, the boys have been searching for a room to make their potion in. It was hard to do because they had to do it when Remus didn't want to be around them or was gone on the full moon. It was also hard to find the right room because it had to be a room that no one would just walk into and find the potion.

"So where is it?" James asked.

Both of his friends pointed to the wall behind them.

James's raised a disbelieving brow. "That's a wall."

"Yes, we know, but a door forms out of the wall!" Sirius told him excitedly.

"Really?" James asked excitedly, staring at the wall with more interest now. "So, how do we bring forth this door?"

"Eh…." Sirius glanced at Peter then back at James. "Well…"

James deflated and looked at his friends dryly. "You don't know? How could you not know?! What were you doing here when it came out the first time?"

"Looking for a room to brew the potion in while you and Remus we–" Sirius said.

James screamed and pointed a finger at his friend. "You finish that sentence and I'll send you to deal with Remus until he leaves tonight!"

Sirius fell silent, twitching slightly at the idea of dealing with a crabby Remus.

"I'm sure Remus would be really pleased at being used as a threat because of his furry little problem." Peter said sarcastically. He turned to face the wall. "Now can we get on with this before someone comes along and thinks we're acting suspiciously?"

"When aren't we acting suspiciously?" Sirius asked James, frowning. "We are supposed to always be acting suspiciously!"

James shrugged. "I guess Pete didn't get that memo. So, door?"

"Well, when we were here before I was thinking about finding a place to brew that potion." Sirius said as he approached the wall, staring at it. "And it just appeared!" He stood in front of the wall, thinking about the potion room that the boys needed to brew the potion, but the more he stood there, the more he felt like a fool. The stupid door wasn't appearing!

"Any day now, Sirius." James said sarcastically.

Sirius shot him a glare. "I don't get why it's not working! It appeared so easily last time!"

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"What do you guys want?" Remus muttered, dropping his chin to the table.

"Is it so wrong to come talk to a friend?" Fabian asked offended.

Remus rolled his eyes and mumbled something under his breath before saying louder, "It is when said friend is in a bad mood and feels horrible."

"You always look horrible." Gideon said as he dropped into the seat next to Remus.

"And you did not come over here while I'm in a foul mood to talk about how I look." Remus snapped, pushing himself up to look at both boys. "Now, what do you want?"

Fabian frowned. "We were just joking."

"I don't think Remus can take a joke right now." Gideon pointed out, rolling his eyes.

"Ah, you're right. There is always this time once a month when he is crabby like this." Fabian agreed, nodding his head as he thought about it. "It's just like a girl on her period!"

"Yeah, they practically turn into monsters once a month!" Gideon agreed, laughing with his brother, neither of them noticing Remus stiffen in his seat.

Monster.

Once a month.

Monster.

"_Werewolves, Mr. Lupin, are Dark Creatures for a reason. They will always be monsters, whether it is a full moon or not. The beast always lives within them. They will always be lusting after blood and seeing all humans as prey. They wish to kill or bite others to make them join with him. Werewolves can never be trusted. They are beasts that deserve to be slaughtered." Nazik sneered at his student. _

Both the boys' laughter froze as Gideon's sentence ran through their heads again and again. In their shock and confusion, neither of the boys noticed when Remus slid out of his chair and hightailed it out of the library, ignoring the librarian's scream not to run.

Remus's heart hammered strongly against his chest. Damn Gideon. Damn Fabian. Why the hell did they have to bother him today of all bloody days when he could barely think straight? He wouldn't be able to think of a proper reply to something like that! Why the hell did they have to be so curious as to why he left each month anyway? And why did they have to bother him when he was at his weakest?

Monster.

Breathing rapidly, Remus skidded to a halt in the middle of an empty corridor. He leaned against a wall and put his hand to his forehead. This was all James's and Sirius's fault! Why couldn't they just leave him alone in first year and not try to be his friend? At least then, he could have just blended in and nobody would have given him or his disappearances a second thought! He and his secret could have been left alone!

Though that was what he wanted, though he was a monster undeserving of the amazing friends he had, Remus did not know how he ever handled life without friends like James, Sirius, or Peter before this. They always helped him on the day of the full moon and helped him with making lies. Though they riled him up sometimes on the full moon, they always laughed about them later on when he was feeling better. They were the best friends he could ask for.

Too bad they weren't here right now when he did need them because they ran off after class because he was being a horrible prat today. They left him to deal with things alone today and now he has a pair of suspicious twins after him!

Gideon and Fabian weren't idiots. They had studied werewolves when they were third years. They knew how to recognize them. To be honest, Remus was surprised they didn't realize it last month about what he was. He was surprised, but not unhappy they didn't realize it.

But now the truth was in their minds. He saw it in their eyes before he ran from the library. He saw the truth shining in their eyes. The surprise in those eyes as the laughter stopped. He didn't stay long enough to see the horror or disgust as they realized they were sitting by a monster. There was no way he could handle it.

After all, it was bound to appear right?

What were the chances he would meet more than three students who didn't care about his curse?

They were going to be disgusted by him.

They were going to be scared of him.

And as much as he wanted too, he couldn't blame them for it.

Because they had every right to be.

He was a monster.

Remus's back slid down the wall until he was sitting on the ground, staring blankly at the ceiling. His secret was going to be found out. His secret was going to be told.

He was going to be kicked out of school!

Everyone was going to hate him.

He was enjoying his time at Hogwarts.

Everyone in the wizarding world would learn about the disgusting creature that Dumbledore let into Hogwarts.

He was enjoying all the classes, hanging with friends, pranks, and everything about it!

When it was found out what he was, he was going to be forced to register at the Ministry of Magic.

He didn't want to have to leave it all behind after all of this!

Remus chuckled darkly and traced a finger over his golden eyes. Why did no one ever realize that golden eyes were something that all werewolves had?

He snorted to himself at the question. The answer was obvious. It was never known because werewolves don't let it be known to the public that they are a werewolf and if they do, they don't mention the eye color change that comes with it. Doing so would only make the chance of discovering werewolves that much easier.

Which is why James was the only person outside of his family that he ever told that secret too. James didn't even tell Sirius or Peter about his eyes to his knowledge, which he was happy about.

But how much longer would all of this last?

Gideon and Fabian had to know the truth by now. Everything was going to come to an end so soon.

Remus covered one of his eyes with his hand and stared at the ceiling with the other. How fast would Gideon and Fabian spread the truth about him? How fast until the students believed them and showered him with sneers and looks of disgust and hatred?

Nazik will be so happy to see Remus go with all the students staring at him in hatred and disgust.

His wish to see him gone will finally be fulfilled.

**A/N: Please Review! Reviews make me so happy and give me inspiration to write! **


	18. Chapter 18:Dark Secrets and Realizations

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. **

**Thanks for reviewing!**

**The Marauders Year 3**

**Chapter 18: Dark Secrets and Realizations **

"Sirius, as amusing as this is to me and Peter watching you glare, jump, and yell at a wall, it isn't doing anything. Just give it a rest." James said from where he and Peter were sitting on the ground by the opposite wall, playing Exploding Snaps.

Sirius angrily kicked the wall before turning to glare at his friends. "You could help me, you know!"

James looked up with an irritated scowl. "We tried to help, but you yelled at us to leave you alone because you could figure it at, you said!" He threw his cards down on the pile, resulting in all the cards exploding and leaving a scorch mark on the ground, but James didn't give it any attention as he stood up. "We've been here for two hours already. Let's just go find Remus. It's almost time for him to leave."

The frown wiped off of Sirius's face immediately at those words and he nodded. As much as he wanted to get in that room already, it could wait until Remus was gone. It wasn't really needed, but all of the boys liked to see Remus off before he left. That didn't necessarily mean they all went with him to the Hospital Wing since that would be suspicious. Two of them usual spoke to him wherever he was before he left with the third to head to the Hospital Wing.

"Fine." Sirius mumbled and the three boys left.

Of course his concern for Remus didn't stop the Black heir from looking over his shoulder as they left, glaring at the wall as if saying that he would be back later to teach it a lesson that it shouldn't defy Sirius Black. That wall was going to learn!

"Where is Remus anyway?" Peter asked.

"Last I knew he was heading to the library. If he's not there, he's either in the tower or headed to the Hospital Wing already because he really did look ready to pass out earlier." James replied.

"Then let us be on our way!" Sirius declared dramatically.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"_Monster." _

_Remus ducked his head at the sneers that the students sent his way as he passed them. He didn't know many of them, but he didn't have to. They all hated and feared him now because of what he was. All they saw in him now was the monster that he was. He was no longer Remus Lupin, a Marauder and Gryffindor to them, but a mindless animal that wanted them all dead. _

"_Why are they only expelling him? They should kill him now and save us all the trouble." A student sneered loudly so he would hear as he walked passed. _

_His friend snorted. "Kill him? Lupin should have offed himself a long time ago. It would have saved everyone a lot of trouble." _

_Remus's breath caught in his throat. _

"_All he has ever done was cause problems for people." _

"_**We helped you when your father died! Everyone told you he died saving you! That was a lie! I bet he only saved your life so he could get away from you! He hated the fact that you were his son!" Sirius's voice yelled in Remus's mind.**_

'_That's right. If it wasn't for me, my parents could have enjoyed a peaceful life in the wizarding world without always having to move because of the werewolf brat causing problems.' Remus thought bitterly. _

_Remus shook his head to rid himself of those horrible thoughts and continued walking through the school, sneers and looks of disgusts and hatred all being shot at him from all directions. From the students, from the paintings, from the ghosts, and even from teachers who simply hid it since it was a secret before. _

"_**All werewolves deserve death. They are vile monsters who are a menace to our world. Dumbledore was a fool and an idiot to let a **__**monster **__**like you into our school. Just go and kill yourself already, Lupin! Save us all the trouble of having to deal with you!" James shouted in his mind. **_

"_No, no, no." Remus mumbled to himself, hurrying down a staircase. "It's wrong. It's wrong. They don't hate me. They don't hate me." _

_Somehow or another, Remus suddenly found himself standing in an empty corridor. He came to a halt and fell to his knees. It was known. His deepest, darkest secret was out. Everyone knew about what he was. His life was over. There was no way his mother would be able to live in peace, even in the muggle world, anymore with this secret out. _

_Everything was ruined and at an end. _

"_I can't believe we ever thought you were cool." _

_Remus turned his head slightly to look at Gideon and Fabian who had come up behind him out of nowhere. His eyes widened when he saw the wands being held in their hands and pointed at him. _

"_I don't know what Professor Dumbledore was thinking when he let something like you into Hogwarts." Fabian sneered. _

"_Gideon, Fabian." Remus whispered. "I was a werewolf the whole time. Nothing has changed. Please, you know me." _

"_No." Gideon sneered as he pressed his wand tip into Remus's neck. "We only thought we knew you, __**Monster.**__" _

_**Monster. **_

_**Monster.**_

_**Monster!**_

_**Monsters don't deserve to live. They deserve HELL for all the pain and misery they have caused!**_

_**Why are you still alive, Remus?**_

_**Why are you here? **_

_**Do you enjoy all the pain and suffering you cause your friends and family?**_

_**Why should they have to suffer with the weight of your secret?**_

Remus woke up with a gasp, sweat trailing down his face. As he groaned, he covered his face with his scarred hand. He stared at those scars lining his hands with a disgusted look and he ripped his hand away from his face.

He stiffly rolled onto his side to stare at a wall of the Shrieking Shack blankly. Just another normal month in the Shrieking Shack.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"It's not like Remus to just disappear so easily on the full moon." Peter grumbled. "He is always in someplace we know to check so we know where he is at on these days!"

"So why can't we find him?" James asked frustrated.

"Because he is in a mood and doesn't want to be found?" Sirius suggested, only to get glared at in reply. "Okay, no need to glare at me. Let's just go see Madam P."

Nodding, James led his two friends to the Hospital Wing, but no one really spoke during the walk there. James mostly kept silent because of his worry. It wasn't worry for Remus, though he was concerned about Remus and his transformation tonight. It was worry about the Prewett twins. When they went to the library to find Remus, they had split up to search for him. James had come across the Prewett twins, but neither of the two saw him as they were so engrossed in a book they were reading. The real horror came to James when he saw the books surrounding them were about werewolves and he heard them whispering. Most of what they were saying was so quiet that he didn't hear much of it, but he did hear 'full moon' and 'Remus' in their whispers.

That had freaked James out. It sounded like they were getting onto Remus's little secret. Not wanting to be dragged into anything, James had backed away from the twins and ran off to find Sirius and Peter. He didn't mention what he saw or heard to either of his friends though. It wasn't the time for that. He didn't need them freaking out with worry about Remus's secret being found out. They could hopefully sidetrack the twins later on. For now, they had to find Remus.

When they entered the Hospital Wing it was to see Madam Pomfrey bustling around and getting some things cleaned. She looked up in surprise when she heard the door open and saw the three boys walking in. "Hello boys. I didn't expect to see you three tonight."

Peter blinked in confusion. "What do you mean? One of us always comes here to help you with Remus's furry little problem."

Madam Pomfrey smiled a bit to herself at the codename the boys had given Remus's lycanthropy. Remus had told her one day after the full moon that was what they codenamed it. She had thought it was really sweet, especially with Remus fondly complaining about it to her.

"Though." Peter continued as he looked around the empty Hospital Wing. "I see Remus isn't here yet."

Madam Pomfrey stopped what she was doing to look at the boys in shock. "You mean you boys don't know? Mr. Lupin came in by himself a couple of hours ago and decided to go down to the Shrieking Shack by himself tonight a little bit early. Said he needed to be alone for a while to think."

"To think?" Sirius echoed in confusion, looking at Peter, who looked just as confused as him, then at James, who was frowning. "Think about what?"

Frowning, James ran a hand through his hair. He knew Remus had gone to the library the moment that classes had ended and he did see Gideon and Fabian in there. What if they were in there at the same time and Remus saw them studying werewolves? He would have freaked out if he thought they were getting suspicious and gone off on his own again instead of seeking them out because that was the kind of stubborn idiot he was!

"Thank you, Madam P!" James said quickly before he was spinning around and racing out of the Hospital Wing with two confused friends chasing after him.

"James?" Sirius yelled. "What's up? Did you realize something?"

James slowed down until he was stopped in the middle of an empty corridor. He turned to face Sirius and Peter with a serious look as he crossed his arms. "We need to find a way into that room tonight. We've wasted enough time on preparation. We need to get working on Operation Moony."

Peter and Sirius shared a look before looking back at James.

"We get that." Sirius said. "I want to get started learning this as well, but what has you suddenly determined to start this right now?"

James looked around before he said in a lower voice, "Gideon and Fabian. I think they've realized the truth."

"What?" Sirius hissed, though he didn't feel that much shock or surprise though. He, James, and Peter figured it out in their second year before they even studied werewolves. Gideon and Fabian were seventh years who knew a lot more then they did and if they paid enough attention, they would realize something was wrong. They had all known if Gideon or Fabian were curious enough about the disappearances Remus made, the truth would come out. In the end, it was only a matter of time and waiting on the Marauders' part for the truth to come alight.

"I think Remus knows that they might know." James added. "All three of them were in the library today. They might have been in there at the same time and came across each other and if they did…."

"Remus would have run off, brooding and thinking he's going to be expelled for them finding out." Sirius finished darkly.

"If he thinks dark thoughts on the full moon, like he probably is right now, it affects the wolf and will make tonight that much worse for him with the wolf angry and upset." James said, glancing out the window that was near them. The full moon was going to rise soon. Very soon it would be another hellish night for Remus. "Who knows how many of these horrible nights he'll have to go through before we finish project? We don't have time to waste!"

*Y*E*A*R*3*

Remus didn't even have to look out the cracks between the boards on windows to know. The moment his body went completely rigid with pain traveling all up and down his spine and to the end of each of his limbs, he knew.

The full moon had risen.

His back arched violently, making Remus claw desperately at something on the couch to hold. His hand had just snatched up a ratty old blanket when his body twisted brutally and he was rolling off the couch. As he rolling, he felt the bones in his hands SNAP and CRACK as the bones broke and reformed. The blanket he was holding went flying into the air because of his uncontrollable thrust of the blanket. As he landed facedown on the ground, screaming out in misery and pain, the blanket landed on top of him. The sound of ripping clothes met his ears next, but it didn't register above his screaming.

Remus's nails dug into the wooden ground; painful, hot tears trailed down his face as he cried out in pain as his bones in his legs SNAPPED and twisted around to form the werewolf's legs. Each of his toes broke. One by one each of them CRACKED violently before they painfully snapped back together and grew bigger and bigger. His toenails grew as well, becoming sharper and sharper that that they were able to pierce the ground and make claw marks on it.

With more explosive pain traveling down his spine, Remus arched himself, which caused his feet to scrape against the ground, making a horrible scraping sound because of his sharp toenails dragging along the ground. His nails dug into the hard floor deeper as his fingers turned into claws and ripped the ground up.

His head tilted back at a horrible, painful angle with him screaming at the ceiling as his face changed shape to become longer. Next fur sprouted all along his body, covering every inch of it and his screams turned into horrible, painful howls.

When the transformation was finished, the wolf collapsed for a moment under the blanket that still covered it and just laid there. After a moment, a long, anguished howl could be heard once more.

Tearing the blanket to shreds, the wolf rose out of the shredded pieces, howling again as he rose.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"What is with this stupid room?" Sirius growled, kicking the wall in frustration, only to have pain flare through his foot, leaving him jumping around on one foot, looking like a fool.

"Kicking isn't going to help." James said.

"No, but it makes me feel better!" Sirius shouted, glaring at the wall hatefully. How dare it mock him?

James raised a brow. "Causing yourself pain makes you feel better?" He smirked. "Why, Sirius, I had no idea that you were a masochist. Why did you never tell me?"

"Damn it! I'm not a masochist!" Sirius shouted before glaring at the wall. "But I do hate this wall."

James rolled his eyes. "Okay, tell me again. What were you doing exactly when you were here before?"

"You expect me to remember exactly? It was weeks ago!" Sirius said, frowning.

"You should have remembered every moment of it just because of the door that appeared!" James argued, pacing in front of the wall. "How are we supposed to make this potion if you can't remember how to get into the room?" He turned around to walk in the other direction. "The moment you entered that room and saw how amazing it was," James turned around again. "You should have recalled every detail of that moment when the door appeared. But nooo."

"Uh…James." Sirius said, eyes wide in excitement.

"Instead of being smart for once in your life, you were an idiot, LIKE ALWAYS, and forgot all about what you did to get into the room!" James continued to rant.

"James." Peter said, staring wide eyed at the wall in shock.

"And now we've wasted hours! Hours, I tell you! Wh–"

"JAMES!" Peter and Sirius shouted with the latter pointing at the wall.

"What?"

"Look." Peter said.

James turned around to see a big door on the wall. "Well, that is certainly impressive." He said slowly.

"So, any idea of how this happened?" Peter asked, but was completely ignored as both of his friends ran over to the door, fighting over each other to try to be the one to open the door. He sighed and looked around the hallway to make sure it was still clear. Honestly, what type of idiots fought over each other to open a door?

When he looked back at the door it was to see that James had won the struggle and threw the door open and was charging inside with Sirius chasing after him. Sighing, Peter followed the two.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

The wolf's mind was going crazy with anguish and sadness. He didn't understand why he was so upset; he just knew that he was upset and the reason why was because of the human soul residing inside of him. The human in him wanted to rip itself out tonight and just howl out all the misery it was feeling. Instead of doing that, the wolf dealt with the anguish in another way. A way to deal with the anguish and his craving for blood and flesh.

Violence.

The wolf ran around the house, running into everything that it came across until he eventually slammed his shoulder into something sharp and cut open his flesh. Blood trailed down his arm, exciting the wolf even more and when he felt some of the anguish and pain leave him when he cut himself, he got even more violent and the night turned much worse.

The wolf gnawed viciously at his arm to get to the blood that was trailing down the arm. When the blood started to clot in his fur, the wolf got irritated once more and bit down hard on his arm to pull out the blood and ended up piercing the skin in his arm, ripping the skin off, leaving blood to trail all over himself and the ground, but he didn't care. He got the flesh and blood he so desired in his mouth.

Running at another wall, the wolf slammed into it and fell over to the ground, scraping his face on a broken couch leg. The wolf ignored it though as he stood up and shook his head before throwing himself to the ground and twisted his head around to get to his shoulder to bury his teeth in it.

Snarling when he could only get his teeth to scratch at his shoulder, the wolf twisted around and rolled across the ground, bumping into things, but he didn't care. All he wanted, all he cared about, all he craved was human flesh. If he died getting what he wanted, who cared?

All that mattered was his desire for human flesh and blood.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

Gideon rolled on his side, opening his eyes to watch Madam Pomfrey bustle out of the Hospital Wing early in the morning. Normally he wouldn't be awake at this time, but last night he had foolishly broken his hand (and he would never tell anyone the truth of how he had done it) and even more foolish then that was that he allowed Fabian to heal it because they had been studying healing spells and Fabian wanted to test one of them. To both of their amazement, Fabian somehow botched the spell up and now Gideon was having his bones painfully regrown.

And because of that, Gideon wasn't sleeping as peacefully as he usual did so he immediately awoke when he heard Madam Pomfrey moving around. It was really strange and confusing to him to see her leave the Hospital Wing in a traveling cloak. He knew she wouldn't be leaving the Hospital Wing for no reason, especially if she had a student in here, so what was she doing?

Too tired to think too much on it, Gideon closed his eyes and fell back to sleep. But his sleep was not restful. His mind moved to Remus, the same Remus who he and his brother saw in the library yesterday and the same Remus who ran away when they were talking about girls being monsters once a month. He ran away and the brothers realized the truth and researched it to make sure they were right.

And there just couldn't be any doubt about it now. Remus Lupin was a werewolf. It was the only logical thing that made sense with his disappearances and reappearances covered in wounds. There was simply no way that Dumbledore didn't know about his student. He had to know and he also had to have a system set up for Remus so he wouldn't hurt any students during his transformation, which is why Remus came back so injured. He was injuring himself to protect everyone else.

Gideon now understood even more now why Remus was a Gryffindor. He was so brave to face that transformation every month and to lock himself way, despite knowing that he would injure himself. He faced that painful transformation every month then came back to Hogwarts and acted like it was nothing. Nothing was wrong, and yet everything was.

He also now understood perfectly why Nazik hated Remus. Their first argument was about werewolves. They just argued about them and Nazik insulted them. Remus basically had to sit there and be told he was a beast and was never going to be human.

After what felt like only minutes of sleep, Gideon ears picked up the sound of quickly moving feet and worried muttering. But even before he heard those sounds, he smelled it first.

The thick scent of a lot of blood.

Someone was bleeding out.

Gideon's eyes snapped open to see Madam Pomfrey hurrying putting a small boy on the closest bed to her potion's cabinet. The boy was covered in Madam Pomfrey's dark traveling cloak, but Gideon could still see it, even if he was tired. He could see the dark spots coloring that cloak that weren't there before. His whole body was covered in blood under that cloak.

As he watched through half-opened eyes, Madam Pomfrey made quick work of getting all the potions she was going to need. Ignoring what the nurse was doing, Gideon looked back at the boy. A small limp hand had fallen off the edge of the bed and just hung there with blood trailing down the hand to the tips of his fingers before dripping to the ground.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Almost as if in a trance, Gideon watched the blood drip to the ground and just listened for each PLOP as it joined the others in making a puddle on the ground.

After what seemed liked ages, Gideon finally worked up the courage to push himself up on his bed and lift his eyes to the boy's face. His eyes widened when he saw the face. Not because he recognized the boy, but because he couldn't even tell who it was. Blood covered every inch of his face. His hair was coated in the red substance like he was swimming in it. The true color of his hair couldn't even be found with how much blood was in it.

"Dear, dear," Madam Pomfrey tutted as she turned back to the boy, not noticing that Gideon was watching.

Gideon didn't even both to turn her eyes to him when he heard her. It wasn't hard to hear her with how quiet it was in the Hospital Wing. All the sound in here was coming from over there. Madam Pomfrey's shoes clicking on the ground, her soft talking, the dripping of the blood, and the harsh, difficult breathing of the boy.

"What have you done now, Mr. Lupin?" Madam Pomfrey asked as she gently peeled the cloak away from his chest, revealing the bloodied and bruised chest with fresh blood now gushing out.

But that was not noticed by Gideon. No, the moment he heard that name escape the nurse's lips, his eyes had flashed back to the boy's face. That was Remus? He didn't even notice. He couldn't even tell that was him! What had he done to himself? Was this what he always looked like after the full moon? And he still came back to school acting like nothing was different?!

"Remus." Gideon unintentionally whispered.

Hearing the whisper, Madam Pomfrey whipped around to look at Gideon. "Mr. Prewett!" She said, but she only looked at him for a moment before Remus groaned then her attention was back on him. She quickly set to work on waving her wand over his chest and muttering a spell before she looked back at Gideon. "If you are well, Mr. Prewett, please go find Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore and ask them to call for Mrs. Potter."

When Gideon opened his mouth to question her, she sent him a glare, so he quickly shut his mouth, jumped out of bed and slipped on his shoes. Without wasting time to look back at Remus, Gideon was out of the Hospital Wing and heading to McGonagall's office first.

It was lucky for him that it was so early in the morning that no students were awake yet and that he didn't run into any teachers patrolling the halls because that would have just slowed him down. And there was no time to be slowed down. Remus did not look in good shape and if Madam Pomfrey was asking for McGonagall to get another healer here (yes, he knew Mrs. Potter was a healer) then it must be horrible and his life was at stake.

"Professor McGonagall!" Gideon yelled, pounding on her door. "Professor McGonagall!"

A very annoyed Professor McGonagall who was still in her night dress opened the door to look at her student. "What is it, Mr. Prewett? It is–"

"Madam Pomfrey needs you in the Hospital Wing and request you call Mrs. Potter here as well." Gideon, quite boldly in his opinion, interrupted her.

After those words left his mouth, the annoyance in McGonagall's stance left and she was already moving over to her Floo network.

After that, everything was pretty much a blur to Gideon. McGonagall called for Mrs. Potter, which did take a while to get her awake and answering the Floo call, then Gideon was sent to find the Headmaster while Mrs. Potter, who Flooed to McGonagall's office quite quickly, and Professor McGonagall headed to the Hospital Wing. Somehow or another, Gideon ended up not even having to go to the Headmaster's office. He had met Professor Dumbledore in the corridor, which shouldn't be that strange, yet it was. It was even stranger because he was drinking hot chocolate at the time. After the situation was quickly explained, the two headed back to the Hospital Wing.

Not wanting to get in anyone's way, Gideon sat back on his bed and just watched everything. He watched, but didn't hear a thing. It was like his mind was in a haze as he watched the two healers quickly work on saving Remus's life with his professors watching on worriedly and quietly talking to each other. He had thought it was normal for Remus to get this injured on a full moon earlier, but he was wrong. Neither McGonagall nor Dumbledore had expected him to show up and tell them to come to the Hospital Wing. They had both been shocked to see the state that Remus was in.

Which just told Gideon that something went wrong with his transformation last night and it was a horrible night for him.

As Gideon was released from the Hospital Wing a few hours later, he saw Professor McGonagall in the corridor, blocking James, Sirius, and Peter from reaching the Hospital Wing. He didn't go over to them, but he did watch as she spoke quickly and quietly to the three teenagers, who quickly lost all color in their faces.

Looking away, Gideon decided to head to breakfast to find his brother. Just like how the Marauders apparently didn't have secrets among them, Gideon and Fabian had no secrets either.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

Fabian stared down in horror at Remus. Four days ago at breakfast, Gideon had explained to him in hushed whispers what he saw in the Hospital Wing, but he just couldn't believe it was this bad. All he saw was Remus's face since the rest of him was covered, but after seeing all the bandages wrapped around his neck and his face, the dry blood crusted in his hair, and the sound of harsh groaning that came from him every few minutes, Fabian didn't want to see the rest.

To see him now, Fabian knew why the rest of the Marauders had been so subdued recently. Before now, the twins had avoided coming to the Hospital Wing because the three Marauders were constantly in here watching their friend, waiting for him to wake up. They were always in here, eating and doing their homework. The school knew Remus was injured. It got out somehow and considering the wreck he looked, it was probably best. He would come back with new scars so if they knew he was injured and resting in the Hospital Wing, it would be less suspicious.

The twins had come to visit Remus because the Marauders were in class and they had a break which gave them time to visit him without being question by the other Marauders.

"It's not right, but I can see now why werewolves don't like to lock themselves up on the full moon if this is what happens." Fabian whispered to Gideon, collapsing in a chair besides his brother.

Gideon nodded his head. "Yeah, they are scared to do it. They don't want to face this pain. That's what makes Remus so brave. He'll do this to himself to protect others." He glanced at Remus's face and immediately sat forward. "Is he waking up?"

Glancing down at Remus and seeing his eyes fluttering open, Fabian smirked and drawled, "Morning."

A groan came from Remus. Dazed gold eyes moved over to Fabian then to Gideon. A husky "Huh?" came from Remus.

Gideon chuckled and stood up, moving over the nightstand by the bed to pour Remus a glass of water. "You've been asleep for four days, Remus. Must have been one hell of a night you had."

Remus blinked as Gideon helped him sit up. Knowing that Remus's hands wouldn't help him since they were all bandaged up, Gideon put the glass to Remus's mouth and tilted it back for him. Greedily, Remus drank the water until Gideon pulled it away so he wouldn't drown in all the water he was drinking and set the glass down.

"Are you in any pain? Do you need Madam Pomfrey?" Gideon asked as he sat back down.

Remus shook his head. "No, I'm fine." He looked at the two again with a frown. "You know, don't you? You figured it out that day in the library, right?"

The twins nodded.

"Yes, we know you're–" Gideon started.

"A bloody moody and very vicious girl." Fabian finished with a grin as his brother and Remus stared blankly at him.

Gideon's lips twitched a bit violently as he tried to suppress a smile while Remus groaned and buried half of his face in his pillow. Just like his damn friends.

"We know you're a werewolf." Gideon finished the sentence correctly.

Remus groaned and lifted a bandaged hand to cover the other half of his face. He already knew that they knew the truth. It was just a matter of hearing it from them. "What are you going to do now?" He whispered and the twins had to strain to hear him.

"Nothing," Gideon answered without hesitation. "We are sorry, Remus. Angel was right. We shouldn't have butted into other people's business."

"We had no idea that it was such a dark secret we were trying to uncover." Fabian continued. Noticing the time, Fabian nudged his brother and showed him his watch. "Time for class, Remus. Sorry we can't stay longer, but I'm sure your friends will be here soon."

Remus moved his hand from his eye a bit to watch the two collect their bags off the ground and stand up. When they started to leave, Remus heaved himself halfway up with some difficulty and called, "Hey! Wait!" When they paused at the end of his bed, he asked, "Are you going to tell anyone else?"

The twins looked back at him with frowns.

"What kind of friends would we be if we let the fact that we now know your secret get in the way of our friendship?" Gideon asked. "It doesn't change anything now that we know."

"Don't worry." Fabian added with a grin as the Hospital Wing doors burst open and three teenagers burst in. "No one will hear it from our lips, not even our friends."

The twins walked passed three confused Marauders, though they didn't remain confused for long when they saw that Remus was awake and straining himself to sit up.

James and Peter ran over to Remus on different sides of him to help lower him back down onto the bed.

"What is with you and getting seriously hurt on the full moon?" Sirius asked loudly as the twins walked towards the door with smiles.

"I figured the more I get hurt, the more chocolate I get from you idiots." Remus replied, eyeing the chocolate in Sirius's hands eagerly. He reached out for it, but another hand snatched it first.

James held the chocolate out of Remus's reach, wearing a frown. "Are you going to tell us what went wrong last night? You haven't had a transformation this bad in a while."

Remus thought back to his conversation with the twins and smiled as he shook his head. "It's nothing for you guys to worry about. It's all alright now. I was just being an idiot."

Sirius snorted and snatched the chocolate back from James and tossed it onto Remus's lap. "Wouldn't be the first time."

James looked back at the Hospital Wing doors that the twins disappeared through with a contemplating smile before he was dragged into a conversation with the others about their Potions class where Avery's potion had exploded, creating a huge mess of the lab and getting everyone out of class a few minutes early.

Remus laughed and smiled brightly as Sirius dramatically recounted the scene of Avery screaming like a girl.

*Y*E*A*R*3*

"Remus."

Remus looked up from his cards that he was holding to look at Fabian, who was his opponent in Exploding Snaps while Gideon worked on an essay that was due soon.

"What is it?" Remus asked, looking back down at his cards for a moment before at the ones on the bed table between him and Fabian, who was sitting at the end of the bed with Remus curled up on his own side.

"Were you a werewolf long before you came to Hogwarts?" Fabian asked.

Eyes widening, Remus looked back down at his scarred hands. Madam Pomfrey had removed the bandages on his hands earlier that day, but still kept the ones covering his face. Though there were fewer ones on his face then when he first woke up. He looked at the fresh scars that were still bright red on his hands, tracing them with his eyes.

Gideon looked up from his paper with a frown. "That was an insensitive thing to ask. We came here to see how Remus was and to decrease his boredom, not interrogate him."

"I'm not interrogating him! I just wanted to know if he has been one for a long time before he came to Hogwarts. It must have been a huge and difficult change for him." Fabian protested.

"It doesn't mean it's not insensitive. Something like that is private!" Gideon argued.

"I was bitten when I was five." Remus said quietly, efficiently shutting up the twins.

Fabian turned to look at Remus in horror. "You were bitten at five?"

Remus shrugged and looked out one of the Hospital Wing windows. "To be honest, I don't remember anything of my life from before I was bitten. All I know is being this…" He sighed and touched his shoulder where the scar from the bite that changed him was. "I can't remember what it was like to truly be human."

BANG!

"But you are!" Gideon shouted.

Remus looked back at Gideon to see him standing up with his chair knocked over behind him and his essay falling to the ground.

"Being a werewolf does not change anything, Remus. You can't let what Nazik or any of those other prejudiced people say get to you! You can't let being a werewolf control you or decide everything for you. It doesn't change who you are." Gideon told him angrily, hands shaking at his side. "You only transform into a wolf once a month. The rest of the time you are Remus John Lupin, a human! You mustn't ever forget that! The wolf is not in control here! You are. Always remember that!"

**A/N: Pretty please review! I love reviews! They make me soooo happy! **


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